Shadow Corp
by Lord Kelvin
Summary: Shadow's late night meeting starts with a simple offer: liquidate the company or let the banks tear it into pieces. Can't Chaos Control out of this one, Shads! Contains business jargon.
1. BS

Author's note: AU. If you reach for a dictionary, just give up.

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog, related characters and locales are copyright SEGA.

* * *

**_SHADOW CORP_  
**

**Chapter 1: BS**

Blaze the Cat, reporter of the prime business insight periodical in Station Square, _Bullion State._ To: BS editor-in-chief, Big the Cat. Subject: RE: Shadow Corp

In relation to my pending assignment with Shadow Corporation, down-to-earth approaches failed to produce the desired outcome. Our source has become increasingly reluctant to discuss the conglomerate's internal affairs. This is not the purpose of the correspondence, however.

There is good news. Our administrative expenses have been definitive at directing the flow in the right direction. I am pleased to inform You, dear editor, that I have successfully retrieved the minutes of an executive meeting with an influential member of the company's Creditor Committee. As agreed upon, You will find the document enclosed in a password-protected archive.

Greetings and guff, bla-bla, insert signature. Send.

Should have proofread that. Whatever. I bet the editor will ask me to translate it into _reader language_ even though he's the only reader. That spawn of nepotism…

There's a demonstration outside the hotel. Doesn't look like I'm getting out today, so a cooler will do swimmingly. Oh, the doc's done printing! Should have increased the font. I'll never make out some of this text. Let's see…the descriptions are very basic, so I'll have to fill the blanks myself. Found the intro page. Here we go!

CEO Shadow T. Hedgehog enters the auditorium. SVPs escort him to his seat. Other executives are already present. They are nonplussed by the CEO's tardy performance. Shadow's expression is neutral; he ushers the SVP of Marketing and Communication, Dr Charmy Bee to address the audience while the presentation is being set up. The bee floats above the table, estimating those gathered in the oval room. His positivity outlasts the Internal Audit Department Director's blank gaze and even the Creditor Committee head's mumbling. Charmy closes his eyes and smiles an unearthly smile.

"Jovial greetings, gentlemen and ladies alike. The Chairman is about to begin and I would like to use the beautiful opportunity to thank you all for coming to attend a mundane Saturday evening stakeholder meeting. You, too, Mr Robotnik. What an-"

Robotnik interrupts him with a harrumph. "Dr Charmy, as the sole representative of the Creditor Committee, I would prefer you yielding the floor to the chairman. I consider your eloquence entertaining and I would be most _jovial_ if a qualified executive entertained the banks with the impartial state of your latest acquisition, Chaos Incorporated."

"Thank you for the input, Mr Robotnik. I am forever in your de-" Charmy turns around his axis in the air. The bee must have said something worth withdrawing, but didn't want to abandon the sentence. He glances back at Shadow while fixing his cuffs and gets an OK to end the small talk. He continues: "disarming influence. The CEO will speak now."

Shadow spins a laser pointer around a perfectly manicured finger as he watches Charmy descend and take a seat. The hedgehog skips through several slides in his presentation until he finds the right one. "I will carry on from where Dr Bee left off. The current state of the acquisition in question, Mr Robotnik, is in line with our expectations as discussed in the endorsed merger road map. The first stage has been achieved and documented in the second quarter with marginal offsets absorbed by our plant in Mazuri. The second stage, which entails the buyback and renegotiation of licensing agreements for the acquisition's international product range is within acceptable completion range."

The sole creditor removes his glasses and sighs. "If I may interrupt, Mr Shadow."

"…You may."

Robotnik purses his lips. "How does it translate into the acquisitor's balance sheet? Creditors express concern about the collateral's quality post-merger. With the current line-up experiencing a clash with Chaos Inc.'s product range, cannibalisation will occur, and you will be forced to retire certain assets."

Unfazed, Shadow moves to the next slide and highlights a key figure. "On the contrary, Mr Robotnik. The combined capability of our product lines will produce a synergy effect that will take the rest of the market by surprise." The CEO's stance changes from neutral to exceptionally confident. "It is our minor competitors that will have to consolidate their assets."

"Mmm-yes, on paper, there is no question to the lucrative nature of the deal. That's why you were allowed to leverage intangible potential along with issuing privileged shares."

"The liquidity of which is guaranteed by our NASDAO market maker," Shadow interjects.

"Intangible as it may be, have you considered moral hazard?"

"Pardon me for the segue, Mr Robotnik. I intended to elaborate on that point once the basics are done with."

Robotnik grins. His left eyelid quivers slightly. "Your intention is commendable, and most timely. All the points must be discussed rigorously before informed questions can arise. Isn't that right?"

The audience nods. Shadow makes an agreeable sound.

"In that case, it should also be a given to conclude that we have received verifiable data about the situation, which makes covering it redundant." Lacking a reaction from the audience, Robotnik asks: "Isn't that right?"

Everyone else nods. Shadow puts the laser marker down and claps slowly.

He proceeds to skip towards the end of the slideshow, sounding neutral. "Excellent. We're going straight to the point, then. I believe our financial projections are everything you will need to form an in-depth understanding of the red herring that is moral hazard."

The slide features a chart containing an exponential curve. Time is on the horizontal axis. There are three ticks labelled as stages on separate points of time, one point being twice as far as the previous. EBITDA is on the vertical axis. It features a static line that meets the exponential curve by the end of the second stage.

Robotnik taps his fingers on the desk. He does not put the glasses back on. "Mr Shadow. May I be frank?"

The CEO nods. This elicits a half-grin limited to Robotnik's upper lip. Shadow does not react.

"God created financial analysts to make weather forecasts look reliable," he says quietly. The room is completely silent, so everyone can hear the Creditor Committee's representative. "I am an Honorary Member of The United Federation's Statistics Department's Advisory Board and I have personally supervised the quality assurance of aggregated business sector studies." In a gesture noting disrespect, Robotnik opens his wallet and throws a currency unit at the far end of the table, next to Shadow's laptop. "Are you willing, with your hand on the gold ring, to suggest these numbers are, in fact, based on a binding guarantee and are not just the result of an intern's late night textbook skimming session?"

Shadow does not respond. His eyes are fixated on a blue hedgehog, the Director of the Internal Audit Department, who expresses annoyance.

"Can anyone else stipulate so?" Robotnik asks. The question resounds in the boardroom. The creditor representative tracks Shadow's gaze to the blue hedgehog and turns to face him. "What does the internal audit department have to say?"

The chief auditor stares at the desk for a moment before lifting his head to respond. "We were not acquainted with these projections prior to the meeting."

Robotnik produces a sour expression directed at the CEO and picks up his glasses. "Mr Shadow, you know what my next question is, so you can save the balderdash for the NASDAO opening session on Monday."

The creditor rummages in his briefcase before pulling out a thin folder. He taps a number of figures not visible to members of the audience. "The group's leverage ratio went above 70% last week. If your company underperforms this quarter, our tactical asset allocation team will reshuffle the clients' portfolios, a move I consider too bold for your executives to even consider, Mr Shadow. You will not refinance at the margins you are operating." He puts the folder on the desk and lays both large hands on it. "I've discussed this matter with other major lenders. You will not refinance. The hurdles we had to overcome for the consumer watchdog to allow further concentration in this industry - because it was our money, not yours - and the current probe into our credit lines is a guarantee."

His last words are followed by whispers among the executives. They had no previous knowledge about the lending banks being held at fault by the market regulator for financing a large merger.

"The financiers are incurring unaccounted costs due to your corporate promiscuity and flaunting one's market share whilst dealing with competitors. Now, the government wants to go back on its word."

Whispers become scornful. Robotnik chuckles lightly at the feedback caused by mentioning the government.

"The best part? You're not even a part of the discussion." Robotnik raises a finger and points at the CEO several times. "They don't trust a word you say, Mr Shadow. You've traded everything from weapons to diapers throughout your career. I applaud your industrious nature as a fellow entrepreneur, but not as a creditor or human being. The Federation's Secretary of State is intent on pressing charges for collusion among financiers, unless we put our word where our money is and lend to your competitors. That, Mr Shadow, we cannot do. It takes one recession to alter the state of the economy at large and The Third Basle Accord requires institutions to diversify their assets. That, Mr Shadow, will not do."

He stares at the CEO, who looks back at him with a neutral expression. Dissatisfied with the feedback, Robotnik continues: "A colleague of mine, you may have heard of him, Dr Nega, suggested liquidating a major stake in your business to induce a positive development of your short-term credit rating and, consequentially, our net returns in the sector. From a creditor's point of view, you cannot deny the tremendous opportunity vested in such an undertaking."

Robotnik clasps his hands together, satisfied with the listeners' morale dropping, and looks at Shadow one more time. "Unless, of course, you have constructive input on the matter."

Shadow turned away from the creditor and the executives. He stared at the window with a neutral expression. "The meeting is adjourned. Thank you for your time."

"Pity," Robotnik whispers, certain that others have heard him. He puts the folder back inside the briefcase and turns to leave.

The meeting secretary's credentials follow.

I realise the meeting's contents will be published as soon as Big gets the faintest idea of the text's implications. Shadow T. Hedgehog, the soulless money bag that's been spreading ruin in every sector his life-sucking fingers touched gets a taste of his own medicine. The government, a prime source of his corrupt power, is turning away from his influence. The fat cats refuse to finance further growth of his empire because it's getting too risky even for their greedy shareholders. Thankfully, Mr Robotnik was there to deal the final blow. My part in this ordeal isn't even worth shrugging off for someone as powerful as that hedgehog. If he wanted to, he could kill me and my source on the spot now that one of his subsidiaries administers the city's CCTV network. Overall, the dissolution of his company will be a good thing. If the circumstances allow it, I'll ask Mr Robotnik for an interview.

Pity, he said. Hah! Hm? What is that sound?

"Room service!"

Strange, I didn't order anything. Naturally careful, I stand up tippy-toed to check what's behind the door.

Flowers…as far as the eye can see. Was Big that happy about my exposé? I open the door, my hands quivering, and gasp for air.

"Yargh!"

* * *

Charmy buzzes over loudly to Mr Robotnik as he fidgets up from his seat. "I suggest holding out for the next part," he murmurs.

"Harrumph?"

"Just watch, sir."

The two feign analysing the handouts while other executives leave. Soon, there are only three of them: Shadow, Charmy and Robotnik.

Charmy flies away and returns with a silver tray with three luxurious cola-filled glasses. He adjusts his voice back to normal now that they have privacy. "The CEO wishes to apologise for the abrasive finish, Mr Robotnik. Please."

The man takes a glass, prompting Charmy to bring one to Shadow. The bee hangs in the corner, so Robotnik can concentrate on the CEO, who refuses to face him for a while longer.

"Mr Robotnik, there is a reason why creditors have sent you of all people to represent their best interest during the meeting. One by one, they have walked out unimpressed with the interim results of a framework we've collectively designed. The stock ticker took a dive in the red every morning after, too, indicating leaks. But they were not intending to do anything about it. Like you said, the banks are entrenched and letting go would be detrimental to both parties involved. I'd have to give up on my stock options and you can imagine how the yields would flower when the market opens."

Shadow turns around. He is smiling. Robotnik stares at the cola sourly.

"Adding insult to another insult does not fix the injury."

The CEO walks to the long meeting table and sits down on the edge. "Let me get to the point, then. This Monday at 10 AM Central Federation Time, trading will stop and we will publish a press release." Shadow leaves his glass on the table and motions with his arms, spreading them with every word. "Shadow and Chaos joined forces to develop a product that will take the market by storm."

Charmy buzzes in between the two, sipping from his glass. His legs are crossed as he flies, pretending to be sitting on a cloud. "Arch rivals shook hands to bring a sweet delight so nutritiously balanced and carbon-neutral, everything with taste buds will clamour for it."

Shadow looks at Charmy to move away from Robotnik's view and welcomes a less negative expression from the creditor. "Competition builds innovation, Mr Robotnik. And you should know I cannot live without a challenge. Buying our only real competitor wouldn't count as fair play in relation to the less fortunate alternatives. We could trample the SMEs with economies of scale alone and grind retail prices below their fixed costs. Retailers would give us exclusive rebates a year into the price war and we would recoup our investment the moment our competitors start haemorrhaging life out of every section on the profit and loss statement. The government would have no choice but to allow us to expand further for fear that bankruptcies would lead to many production towns disappearing from the map."

It is clear that Robotnik likes what he hears, but remains puzzled as to how he should react. He does not say a word, allowing Shadow to unearth more details.

"That was the plan before we contacted you to gear up for an acquisition. A small-scale campaign run by middle management to encourage Chaos Inc.'s technologists to defect to our state-of-the-art research facilities caught my attention by pure accident. These new employees spoke of something truly magnificent that they were working on. I wasn't ready to believe them, but the samples they developed were as lucrative as nothing we have ever produced."

Robotnik urges Shadow to keep talking by having a sip of the drink. The man clicks his tongue and takes another taste. Shadow knows it's time to move in.

"How sweet was your cola, Mr Robotnik?"

The man huffs and folds his arms. "Very. I hope you didn't increase the amount of sugar added. It is unwise to increase production costs at this time."

Charmy giggles in the background. Shadow is pleased.

"It contains exactly one table spoon of sugar. There are no sweeteners involved," the CEO explains.

Robotnik sniffs the cola glass, looks at it from different angles. One spoon? At 500 ml? Robotnik wasn't a drink guru, but dissolving just one spoon in that amount of acidic water results in bland taste. If Shadow has his hands on what he said he has, the implications are…

"Outstanding."

Still giggling, Charmy takes a seat next to Robotnik. He urges the man to take a bigger gulp. At the same time, Shadow walks up with the rest of the story: "Chaos Inc. have made a discovery, a new ingredient that improves the taste tenfold while reducing production costs three times. We dubbed it E621."

"It has no certifiable negative effects. We can market it as an eco-friendly, slimming dietary supplement and jack the price up. Jackity-jack-jack!" Charmy explains.

Robotnik holds onto his temples. It would be a bad time for his vitals to have a fit. "Inflexible demand…"

"Chaos Inc.'s scientists had years to go until they had the know-how to develop a sample stable enough for the consumer market. The merger allowed us unmitigated access to their data banks, and we have taken extreme measures to make sure the ingredient is as secret as it is ready," Shadow cooed, comfortably sat on the desk, playing with the laser pointer.

The man stood up. "Is it ready?"

Charmy diverted the man's gaze with a follow-up. "We've tested the product as a generic brand replacement in remote rural areas. The stock didn't last a weekend. The first reviews will appear when the embargo is over, an hour after the press release, as soon as trading resumes."

Robotnik reaches for his smartphone, his hand shaking so much he can't make the proper selection. While he wrestles with the stress, he attempts keeping the conversation partners on their toes. "This is very appealing and strategically placed, but you will have to endure further scrutiny from the government once your shares rally on Monday."

Copying Charmy, Shadow swings his feet. Robotnik thought he had him by the balls, and now the old man is salivating at the remotest image of the figures his bank will squeeze out of the whole deal. "Once we get production rolling, Chaos Inc. will receive a non-exclusive distribution licence in the United Federation with the possibility of repurchasing their plants at current market prices, minus the intellectual property, which we will have extensively patented by then. Chaos Inc. will be restructured into a private company with no formal ties to our shareholders," says the CEO.

"Just a shadow of its former self…" Robotnik whispers. He puts the phone on the table. The man won't get any sleep tonight. Billions! Come Monday, an organised group of industry expert will earn billions!

Looking at the man's obvious distress, Charmy pokes the phone. "May I help you?"

Robotnik grabs the gadget and puts it in his pocket. The call can wait. "I-uh! It's Saturday! I can't reach my broker today!"

As the creditor retreats, Shadow offers a closing statement. "You have an eventful day ahead of you, Mr Robotnik. I hope your asset allocation team is ready for Monday's 9 AM opening bell."

They are alone now. Shadow stares out the window for several minutes, making sure Robotnik's car leaves the VIP parking lot. He clenches a fist, making a small "Yes!" motion, interrupted by Charmy.

"Want a sip?"

"The original is always best, Charmy," he refuses, albeit with a smile. "Shadow eXtreme… What BS you come up with…"

"Is that code for _Best Salesbee_?"

"You'll find out when we reach my limo. Have you sent the flowers as instructed?"

Charmy makes a noise; it is a mouthful. "That's code for _Mission Accomplished; Promotion Me_. Please?"

Shadow laughs it off. He always laughs in the end.

* * *

Author's note: Congrats, genius and/or stock broker! You have completed the intro to _Shadow Corp_. Feel free to express your undying devotion to buzzwords in a review or trick your enemies into reading the fic. There is more to come. Glory to Omochao!


	2. NPC

**Chapter 2: NPC**

Caffeine in his veins, power in his ride and speed at his disposal, Shadow was ready for an eventful day. Dark Rider whizzed past the morning traffic on the way to the tallest skyscrapers in Station Square.

The hedgehog clad in leather motorcyclist gear looked out of touch with the district's startling opulence. Suited narwhals and fat cats sneered at the deviant who dared to enter their domain without a limo.

For the better. Shadow preferred inconspicuous travel to avoid detection before the deal was struck. Those who had to know were already aware of his arrival.

A smiling face greeted him at the entrance. "Welcome to Eggnamco, Mr Shadow. Please, follow me to the meeting room."

"I wish to speak to Robotnik first."

"He is available in the meeting room, sir."

The remark brought Shadow's eyes down. He scanned the owner of the voice, a young orangish fox whose naïve features did not yet succumb to Eggnamco's influence. Shadow was used to seeing bankers as sacks of greed with household debt running through their bloodstream. As a reward for being different, the fox had to carry the visitor's hardened backpack.

Shadow continued walking until they reached the lift. The doors closed, allowing the hedgehog to interrogate his companion in private.

"Are you Robotnik's personal assistant?"

"Mr Robotnik is my mentor, sir."

The answer piqued his interest, so he decided to test the waters. "Perfect. You must tell me of his schedule for the rest of the day."

"That information is confidential, sir."

He knew. Robotnik trusted the fox enough to let him handle sensitive information. Shadow scowled despite being amused.

"You are rude. I will forward this remark to Mr Robotnik."

"I'd rather not say…"

Shadow saw him tremble. The way it worked was that a single negative remark could permanently blemish a protégé's résumé. That was the current term Shadow had for the fox, who spent the time scrawling something on a piece of paper. A scrap containing names with time stamps appeared in Shadow's hand.

Just as he had expected. Robotnik still wanted to milk Shadow Corp dry. The hedgehog crumpled the paper into a tight ball and concentrated on the floor numbers switching constantly above the door.

"You are helpful. What is your name?"

"Tails…but Mr Robotnik prefers Miles Prower."

The fox looked away, blushing. Getting a straightforward compliment from someone like Shadow T. Hedgehog caused a feeling of euphoria an inexperienced person would have trouble containing. To make matters worse, the fox had no possibility of release while stuck in the same lift.

Shadow continued, "Mr Robotnik will benefit from a smooth meeting. Should the circumstances allow, you will receive my patronage."

His chaperon understood the purpose of the remark. "Dr Nega and Monsieur Mephiles arrived accompanied by no less than twelve lawyers half an hour ago. They were discussing an article in today's _Bullion Slate._ Mr Robotnik requested heart pills." He would have continued, but the curve in Shadow's lips told the fox it was enough.

This gave Shadow a fiendish idea. He didn't want to formulate it properly in his mind, so it just lay there in pre-foetal form. Shadow wanted it this way; it was his guarantee to resist temptation.

"When the meeting is over, you will come with me."

They reached the designated floor. The doors slid aside.

"I will, sir." Tails bowed.

Shadow had to enter the meeting room alone. Robotnik's orders, no doubt.

He encountered a pair of sour grapes sat next to Robotnik. At least three lawyers stood behind each of them. Dr Nega, an old crone confined to a wheelchair, stared at him with indignation. Mephiles did the same, his eyes complimented by a creepy faceless grin. Meh, Shadow's encountered them before, so another chilly welcome didn't change his demeanour.

"To what do I owe the sophisticated audience?" Shadow asked.

One of the lawyers flung a magazine at him. It was a used copy of _Bullion Slate_. A doctored picture of Shadow crying was on the cover. He shrugged and put his backpack on the long table to take the laptop out. The ones sitting at the opposite end were not impressed.

"The press received the transcript of a confidential meeting between you and Mr Robotnik," Mephiles began.

"Smoke and mirrors," Shadow shrugged it off, logging onto the laptop.

"Your information flow has sprouted leaks, Mr Shadow. I have expressed this regret during our previous conversation, and it appears you have not searched for a suitable solution."

"Hearsay can hardly be considered a leak. Your face may be a source of gossip as disingenuous as a competitor's tongue."

A laminated card landed next to his computer. It contained unintelligible angry-looking scribbles. Nega threw it. He must have thought Shadow's comment about Mephiles' face exceeded certain boundaries of politeness.

"Wingdings? Dr Nega should fire his typist." Shadow tossed the card aside carelessly.

Everyone watched it tumble on the floor until Mephiles broke the awkward silence. "Allow me to take the lead, gentlemen. Dr Nega refuses to speak to you, Mr Shadow. He has contracted a terrible disease and must conserve his valuable voice, you see. Might be tonsillitis or even angina."

"Angina is a terrible disease for a man like Dr Nega to contract. Condolences and consideration should be made readily available," Shadow scoffed.

Mephiles let the insult fall on deaf ears. To him, the meeting was a formality. "Mr Robotnik has been most considerate and available to our plight. Unlike you, Mr Shadow."

Upon those words, the scrawniest of their legal cadre threw a document file to slide to Shadow's end of the table. The hedgehog didn't pay attention until the package poked the bezel of his laptop. He perked up an eye ridge.

"You have been served. The dissolution of our consortium is your responsibility. I suggest signing the enclosed parting agreement on the spot," Mephiles ordered. He had never provided Shadow with a pen.

Shadow guffawed heartily. "Ah, so the twelfth apostle was a court bailiff. I see the consortium picked up frugality since inception."

"Our time is costly. If you'd kindly sign the agreement, we shan't meet again under misgiving relations."

"I value your acquaintance, Mephiles. Being associated with a renowned financier is an asset few companies can contemplate resigning from."

"Your flattery is unmatched, as is the unique status of your enterprise. This venture must reach fruition, lest I fly home with a weather forecast instead of a guarantee." Mephiles scowled.

Shadow checked his email, clicking through ever so slowly to annoy the crystalline hedgehog more. "My Operations Department confirmed that you have put clause 34 of the acquisition document into action by converting your preferred shares into common stock, an undertaking we cannot fathom the economic reason of."

Mephiles rose from his seat and pointed at the magazine. "One of the reporters handling this story disappeared under suspicious circumstances. You're the scapegoat."

"I am a hedgehog; I do not bleat. If that is their expectation, they should request a press conference and see how Shadow Corp deals with lies and slander."

"You can count on my assistance, should your signature honour the peaceful dissolution drafted by our legal team. A collective press conference would show the public our venture is defined by trust and mutual respect." Mephiles wouldn't sit down.

"That is an excellent thought I am willing to allow my lawyers to look into if you explain how the leak connects with the aforementioned share conversion a week before I had the meeting with Mr Robotnik."

The performance didn't bring Shadow any closer to looking at the documents. Mephiles decided to use more forceful measures to level the entrepreneur by putting his crystalline hand on Robotnik's shoulder. The lawyers fidgeted as if the move was an agreed signal. Shadow kept his cool, but he didn't like where this was going. If Robotnik had switched sides overnight, things got uglier than anticipated.

If the green-eyed tycoon had a facial expression for glee, he was expressing it now. "Mr Robotnik has been elected as the sole administrator of the consolidated line of credit to your enterprise. We have no interest in conducting nebulous business based on second-rate derivative values."

So, the rats elected a captain to sacrifice before bailing out. A fitting confirmation of their nature: society's vermin.

"Looks like my fancy presentation will have to wait for a more suitable occasion." Shadow switched the laptop off.

"I tire of your beautifully structured content-free presentations, Mr Shadow."

Shadow folded his arms and grinned. "You will have an exceptional time deliberating that remark when we meet in court."

In return, Mephiles snapped his fingers. The lawyers behind Robotnik scuttled into action.

"If your business survives the upcoming fire sale. Bankruptcy is the easiest option for you, Mr Shadow. You should have responded to our generous offers while you had the luxury of choice. Now, every speculator in the federation will feast on your company's lifeless husk."

Robotnik was offered two identical sheets of paper, which he signed promptly. The lawyers took one of them to a fax machine while Robotnik kept his hand on the other. It was a sell order to Eggnamco's stake in Shadow Corp.

The lawyers nodded to Mephiles, who stood up to approach Shadow with the document in hand. He wanted to be sure Shadow saw the extent of the flood the market would endure on the opening auction. Releasing millions of shares into the wild without a buyer in sight would put immense pressure on the price, which habitually snowballed into rapid degeneration of investor sentiment.

"As you can see, Eggnamco wants none of your business as well. The share price will dive a quarter of its value, prompting NASDAO to halt trading. When it surfaces to the newsmakers, trading will not resume. Ever." Mephiles stopped to return to his seat and shake Robotnik's hand. "Thank you for the cooperation, Mr Robotnik. I look forward to working with you on the next securitised package deal. I would express my condolences to your impending losses, but it's only business. You'll recover by withholding dividends this fiscal year."

Robotnik put his face in his hands as the crowd dispersed to leave.

Nega whispered something to Robotnik, but that didn't seem to lift the man's spirits. During the transition, Shadow pulled two bottles of Chaos Cola out of his backpack and opened them.

"Want some?"

Seeing that they had the privacy, Robotnik kicked back in his leather chair and put his legs on the table. "I have everything I want right here," he said and picked up his copy of the sell order.

"That was not very gentlemanly of you."

"Who cares?" Robotnik laughed in short consecutive bursts. He then reached under the table to pull out his secret weapon. "I want you to deliver this to Espio."

Shadow walked up to the banker with soda at the ready. Robotnik did not refuse the drink this time while Shadow read the contents of the man's document. The hedgehog huffed, having barely scratched the first page. There had to be 150 of them.

"Reverse repo? Your Capital Markets Department can handle this," Shadow said.

"The market maker must receive the right message. If there is any doubt, our gamble will backfire. Consider this a firewall against unaccounted losses."

"And if he refuses?"

"His days are numbered. There are large leftover sell orders, which are due today. If he provides insufficient liquidity, his licence will be revoked." Robotnik guzzled down most of his drink and met Shadow's gaze with honest concern. "I have no illusions about the ordeal. Hence, the nominal interest rate he's getting is very generous, current market trends in mind. The NPC company will shoulder the fine. We have no choice in this matter."

Shadow picked up the document to put it in his backpack along with the laptop. "The choice is always there, Mr Robotnik. Only it has variable opportunity costs."

"Humour me after the fact, Shadow." Robotnik pressed a button at his seat. "Mr Shadow needs to be escorted out."

Tails entered the meeting room. He didn't look as bashful upon being formally introduced.

"Have you met my nephew Miles?" Robotnik asked.

Of course, he did. Tails was ordered to meet Shadow downstairs for a reason. If it wasn't a backhanded favour on Robotnik's behalf, the word _gamble_ really did summarise the man's disposition towards Shadow. Or he just hated the Mobian vulpine enough to press him into a stranger's hands.

"Yes. He is coming with me," Shadow announced.

"Is that so?"

Tails looked away at first, but his gaze slowly shifted towards the hedgehog. "I've always wanted to go on an adventure…and I am sure to have one with Mr Shadow."

"Humour comes after the fact, Mr Robotnik."

Robotnik waved his hand at them. They were free to leave.

Tails bit his lower lip as they exited the safety of Eggnamco's skyscraper. The world seemed much colder without a reliable role model. Tails hoped his gut feeling about picking Shadow as his new mentor was right, but that's all he had on the table, a gut feeling.

"Have I done the right thing, Mr Shadow?"

Shadow ushered him to the motorcycle. "Call me Shadow, Tails."

"I understand." He smiled, being handed a motorcycle helmet. He's never ridden a motorcycle before.

Shadow checked his watch. They had a few blocks separating them from Espio's corporate HQ. He decided to call home to check if his plan was going ahead.

"How's the weather, Charmy? Perfect as always. When they finish unloading, distribute the memos. Good. Great to hear. Make sure Rouge is around for a chat. I'll be there in forty."

Tails got only bits and pieces of the conversation, but the images they conveyed let him think Shadow had a busy schedule ahead of him, and the day has only just begun.

Deep in thought, he didn't notice how they reached the location. Tails read the logo at the entrance. He'd been there before on a few errands and had interesting conversations with the clerks downstairs. Judging by how Shadow just left his motorcycle near the front door without alerting security, they were heading to the very top.

"Ninja Partners Consulting is your specialist?" Tails asked.

"The partners used to have unlimited liability before they incorporated. Shadow Corp got a heavenly deal after its NASDAO flotation. There are bigger market makers available, but their bids are dictated by fringe benefit as opposed to goodwill."

Shadow was allowed into Ninja Partners Consulting's employees-only space, a large matted meditation hall with stock tickers on each wall. More than fifty lizards sat on the floor, humming.

"Why are you taking me with you?" Tails whispered, reluctant about intruding into the meditation area.

"To do business yourself, you must have the skill and the knowhow. Enjoy the moment, Tails, because I'll be doing business with you when we return to my office. Listen..."

Espio had taken the central seat, his voice booming in every direction among the general silence. The echoes made a firm impression on Tails.

"CFDs," Espio chanted.

"Give us riches," the lizards replied in unison.

"Futures."

"Give us riches."

"ETFs."

"Give us riches."

"Chi." Espio exhaled, prompting the crowd to disperse. Once he had the necessary solitude, he addressed Shadow, "I sense a disturbance in the cash flow."

The hedgehog walked up close. "Is that how you call a client these days?"

"Shadow, you are early," Espio said. Each word contained ringing hesitation.

"At least there's that."

"Let's go to my office. We have urgent business to discuss." Espio stood up and turned to face the listener, spotting Tails. "Who is this spy?"

"My new protégé."

"What happened to the old one?"

Shadow smirked. "Humour me."

The host did not question him further. Shadow soon found himself on the top floor next to Espio's workstation, a feng shui-styled space with four monitors showing different parts of a single program. Espio logged on and concentrated on what he saw, flipping through graphs and reports.

"My ninjas have been working throughout the weekend to ease your pain, Shadow." He turned to the visitor. "Won't happen. The rate will fall."

The hedgehog shrugged. "Share prices fluctuate daily. What's so different about today?"

Espio pulled out a copy of _Bullion State_ from one of his desk drawers. "Eggnamco does not believe in the future of Shadow Corp. I've sensed betrayal in the news, but when the order came via fax this morning… Shadow, the dam will burst and innocent people will drown."

The chameleon pointed at a list of orders. Bids to sell outgunned the buyers' volume a thousand to one. The proportion was changing rapidly, not in Shadow Corp's favour. To any CEO, this would have been a horrific experience.

Shadow looked amused. "Nonsense. You have the money. Just buy the shares yourself as a market maker should, and sell them when the brouhaha subsides."

Commotion filled the building as the NASDAO opening bell rang. The graphs started moving on every coffee-stained monitor and silent TV. For most employees, it was a regular start to a trading day. For Espio, it provided a disorientating experience.

"The tide…" he whispered. The curve had taken a steep dive compared to Friday's closing price. Espio tried to fathom the reason when Mephiles' image appeared on one of the TVs.

"Mephiles! What's he doing…" Shadow noticed it, too, and turned the volume up.

"I did not say we are issuing a 'sell' recommendation for Shadow Corp's shares. Recommendations are issued when the market is closed to avoid disrupting market sentiment. I merely expressed a very personal, very grave concern about its managerial practices and inability to negotiate with creditors. The Creditor Committee has been disbanded and we will pursue remuneration in federal court should Shadow Corp fail to honour its commitments. That is all, thank you."

Espio put a headset on and was already making numerous calls to his comrades while Shadow stared at the screen. Mephiles' speech took place in an airport. The reporter kept talking after the financier entered his private jet, but Shadow didn't pay attention to it. Tails, on the other hand, swallowed up every word.

"Other members of the Committee were unavailable for comment. Shadow Corp has been burdened with financial woes throughout the last quarter, a condition industry insiders believe to be connected with the company's latest rival acquisition, Chaos Inc. We will cover more on the story as soon as new developments arise."

Espio had a weak smile on his face by the time the broadcast finished. He turned the mic on to address his troops. "All right, ninjas. It is time to show the market what you're made of! Liquidity must flow."

Change happened in an instant: the share price stopped falling. It evened out before climbing. The partnership succeeded in securing enough funds to stay true to its promise of keeping pending order times at the minimum. A company like Shadow Corp didn't normally need a specialist to match buyers with sellers, but investors always felt more at ease when there was a guarantor who'd scoop any leftover requests up and act as a counterparty. That day, Ninja Partnership Consulting appeared to be a lone soldier. Everyone else, as if coordinated by an unknown evil, played against the market maker.

And so, the change Espio hoped to snowball into a profit backfired completely. The slide became a tumble, and the chameleon looked back at his client.

"Shadow, our system can't auto-match this many orders."

"Relax. The buyers will come."

Espio stared at the screen blankly. At that rate, they'd need to borrow money to keep one client alive, and they've had hundreds of companies under their care! "That's what we prayed for since Friday. It got worse. Five percentage points in the negative. Seven. Nine. It is behaving like junk. We are not dealing with an investment-grade asset…"

"So, financial speculators are having a period of exuberant sentiment. Happens to the best of us." Shadow casually pulled a document folder from his backpack, pretending to read.

"We are tapping into our own bank account. This cannot continue. You must call NASDAO and request that trading is ceased."

"Trading will cease," Shadow mumbled.

"Negative thirteen," Espio replied just as absentmindedly. Then, he thought he understood Shadow's statement. "Hold all Shadow Corp orders! What you say?"

"Trading will cease at 10 AM when we make another product announcement."

9:20 AM. Espio faced the screen again. "Hmph. For once, I thought you were serious. Carry on, ninjas."

A noise came from Espio's computer. Despite having little interest in music, Shadow could tell it was a distress call.

Espio's on-screen inbox became packed with unread messages. Colleagues, clients, close friends: everyone wanted a piece of him when things got bad. He folded his arms and took up a deep breathing exercise. "We've just gone into overdraft. The price won't pull till 10 AM. If we let it slip below 20 in the red, NASDAO will issue a warning and take action for you, Shadow."

"But you won't let that happen. It is part of your contract as a market maker: preserve the price from deviating too much. This isn't a force majeure situation, you know."

"They will fine us for last week, anyway. What did you do, Shadow? OTC customers are reaching into the secondary market…"

Shadow walked up right behind Espio and put a gloved hand on the chameleon's shoulder. He rubbed it gently. "Relax. Keep buying."

The connection became more forceful as Shadow continued talking and Espio's fingers – pushing buttons.

"That's right. Buy. Buy."

At one point, Espio took his hands off the keyboard. His company's balance was in the red. Missing out on more large orders meant allowing the price to slip further, growing the market maker's exposure. He'd be buried in losses regardless of what course of action he picked.

Espio shook his head. "There is no one who would buy…"

"Oh, but there is one," Shadow said as he placed Eggnamco's offer on the table.

The chameleon felt his dharma evaporate upon seeing the bidder's name.


	3. HR

**Chapter 3: HR**

Espio glared at Shadow. "Eggnamco… I would have never guessed you'd deliver the viper's poison to me."

"Cut the BS and sign it, Espio."

The chameleon glanced over the contract, flipping multiple sheets of technical definitions as he went along. "These pages are written in a demon's tongue. Our Legal Advisory Department will spend a whole week deciphering it, excluding the schedules and appendices." He slouched in his seat and sighed.

Rather than let the silence get to him, Shadow picked up his phone. "I have to take this call," he said upon exiting the room.

Espio raised his hands to the sky and opened his mouth. Tails couldn't tell what the broker was trying to say, but the point became apparent as soon as Espio looked at him. The chameleon picked up a pen and tapped it on his desk.

"My ancestors will rue the day I entered Eggnamco's domain. The viper will suck the life out of us, won't it, sir?"

"L-look, it's all well, Mr Espio. I helped my uncle draft the agreement. If you look at the subtotals, you have a 2.4 per cent margin at a negative 19 reference rate."

Espio dropped the pen. "Minus the dishonourable APR that nets the partnership a 0.6 per cent loss. Your demon speak cannot delude me! I have trained for this."

Tails gulped. It looked like the chameleon could easily get violent. "If you withhold the excess shares and agree to fill the minimum bid, you may-"

"Enough! I must consult the elders before I risk sacrificing our prime assets to an insatiable snake."

He ran away without waiting for Espio to finish the sentence. Breathing heavily behind the door, Tails searched for Shadow in a fit of panic. That was intense…

"How did it go?" Shadow asked. He was sitting comfortably in a corner, playing with his phone. The fox didn't say a word. Instead, he smiled stupidly and looked awkward overall. Shadow decided to encourage him. "You can speak freely, Tails."

Tails managed to stand up without the door holding him for balance and thought of the right summary. "He is very superstitious."

"That's his sales pitch. He didn't leech any important info out of you during the magic mumbo jumbo fit?"

The fox was shocked. Shadow had only pretended to have an important call. He was eavesdropping the entire time! Before Tails managed to put his indignation into words, Shadow cut him off.

"You didn't think I'd leave you alone to be ninja'd by a stock broker, huh?"

Shadow pulled out a pair of headphones. They looked normal save for a suction cup-like thing replacing the plug. He put the end against the door and invited Tails to take one of the ear buds.

"What is that?" Tails asked in a whisper.

"Standard executive gear. Our HR used to work as a government agent. You'll see her later."

"Are we going to get in trouble?" The fox hesitated before he met a stern look; curiosity got the best of him in the end.

Espio's ancestors seemed to have a good grip on finances, considering what the chameleon told them. "I don't trust Eggnamco either, but they've deposited the funds in our transit account already. If we floor it at 19.8, we'll break even. And if you round the partners to pay him back by the end of the day, we're in the green."

Shadow was happy with what he heard as well as with Tails' priceless expression. He unplugged the headphones and grabbed the door handle.

"I'll call you at 9:50, Vector. They're coming back," Espio finished off in a murmur.

"Week's over. How was the spirit world?"

The chameleon took up the lotus position. Shadow could tell Espio was enjoying the show. "The elders shared my deep sense of anxiety about this legal cypher. They have spoken words of great wisdom: shelter the seeds from the wind and subject the spring growths to the elements to test their dedication to the forest. Ninja Partnership Consulting is dedicated to upholding the market's health above all, and so I sign the contract. Liquidity will flow."

They shook hands like old friends would have.

"Beautiful…" Tails commented.

Espio broke the handshake to point at the fox. "Shadow, I don't think I've been properly introduced to your companion."

Tails' face lit up in an instant, so Shadow decided to play along. He knew exactly what Espio wanted with the fox.

"Espio, Tails. Tails, Espio."

The vulpine didn't see how his own handshake with Espio began. "The most valuable of introductions, Tails, is like the art of haiku: an investment that grows with you from the first ring. We are looking forward to conducting business with you." Espio continued shaking Tails' hand, and it would have gotten worrying were it not for Shadow's save.

"About that, can you leave us alone for a sec?"

"Yes, Shadow."

Tails sighed in relief while Espio directed his frowns towards the hedgehog.

Shadow checked Robotnik's document he had delivered. Espio managed to sign on every page. "Haiku, eh? He just got out of college with a loan dangling from his neck and you're already seducing his wallet."

"You stole him from Eggnamco…"

"He took a chunk of Shadow Corp, threw it away, and reeled it back in along with your company. This is remuneration, not theft." Shadow folded his arms.

"Let the market distribute these assets."

"Before I showed you the agreement, you were ready to assassinate the market."

Espio deposited the contract into a safe. "Ninjas learn to control their urges."

"I see you're chipper again."

The broker grinned, happy to reveal one of his cards. "Eggnamco's papers do not negotiate our commission, so we'll charge them the standard quarterly safekeeping fee."

"I'm sure there's more to it than that, but you two can sort each other out without my help."

Shadow turned to leave, but Espio's voice stopped him mid-way.

"Aren't you going to buy a portion of the shares back from Mr Robotnik?"

"I'm the CEO of Shadow Corp. If I buy my company's shares minutes before an announcement comes in, I'd get a sentence for insider trading."

"You dodged the question…"

Shadow waved at him and closed the door. It flipped back open a second later.

"We're heading home, Tails," the hedgehog said in a hurry.

Espio followed them to the corridor.

"Tails! You must open a trading account with us."

The fox smiled back. "I have a discretionary portfolio at Eggnamco…"

"Is it managed by a market ninja?"

Even though Shadow was pulling his hand, Tails stood his ground with the help of Espio, who grabbed the fox's other hand.

"If I may have your number, Tails, we'll contact you in…" the chameleon cooed, carefully eyeing the two for a reaction. He thought the period was right, "…two weeks. Till then, have this."

Tails sprung to his feet as soon as he got a shuriken engraved with Espio's credentials. He would have enjoyed a longer chat with the broker under different circumstances, like not being pulled outside by a boss in a hurry.

They didn't talk until Shadow reached his motorcycle. "Your verdict?"

"I'm bad at humour," Tails admitted, prompting a chuckle.

"Chin up. I don't know what you did, but you've made a great impression on Espio. He never makes offers outside the safety of his office."

"Unlike you."

Shadow gave the fox a helmet before mounting the Dark Rider. "Beware of flattery, Tails. We are responsible for what we have tamed."

Traffic had already dispersed by the time they took to the streets. Tails' head was full of stressful thoughts, so the fox was unlikely to bother Shadow. It gave the hedgehog a moment to gather his own thoughts. Everything went well at Espio's. Surely, Robotnik could have delivered the contract via courier?

He swore under his breath as a suspicious thought crept up: Robotnik gave him only one copy of the contract, and Espio mentioned the money being already on NPC's transit account, just waiting for a plain accountant to accept it. Espio must have signed Robotnik's own copy no later than last Friday before the central bank's clearing system shut down for the weekend. No doubt, the magnificent show Shadow had to experience was to indebt him to both Eggnamco and NPC. Instead, they'd see how they've fallen out of favour, in due time.

To lighten up, Shadow channelled his attention towards Tails.

"You said Robotnik was your uncle."

"Yeah?"

"I didn't know he had a brother." Shadow knew he didn't have one, more precisely. He only needed Tails to confirm his suspicions.

"He doesn't. He has a younger sister."

"And her name is?"

"Maria Robotnik."

The hedgehog grinned as the motorbike reached the final stretch. "This will be interesting."

Shadow Corp stood before them. A tall, but otherwise dull glass building situated on the outskirts of downtown Station Square, a ride away from Speed Highway. When picking the spot for his corporate HQ, Shadow aimed for something that would please most stakeholders, employees and investors alike. The roof had enough room for a helicopter pad, but Shadow had rented the space out to a telecom, which took care of lightning insurance as well.

A logo plate made of marble aside, the bouncer was the most distinctive part of the establishment. At least, that was Tails' experience.

Shadow allowed the fox to walk one step ahead until they reached a bulky red, yellow and black robot with Latin symbols on its shoulders.

"IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED," it droned at Tails.

The fox retreated until he pressed against Shadow and nearly fell down; the guard robot was after him. Its glowing eyes frightened the fox more than embarrassing himself in front of his new boss.

"Hello there, big robot, sir…"

Shadow grumbled. "Tails…" This got the vulpine to stand up straight while the bouncer took up a less threatening posture.

"DATA UNAVAILABLE. Are you here for an interview?"

Shadow took his backpack off and looked around. "He is, Omega. Escort him to Rouge's office while I change. Be nice."

"ABORT CURRENT ASSIGNMENT?"

Omega knew what to do as per normal procedure, so Shadow took his time to respond, giving Tails a chance to explore inside the building. A few people were unloading identical-looking boxes and makeshift furniture. It seemed like they were going to host a convention in the lobby. Tails found it unusual, but kept his thoughts to himself.

"Find a substitute," Shadow said with disinterest. He was busy counting the boxes put on both sides of the entrance hall.

Omega made a sound similar to an email notification before diverting his attention to the newcomer. "AFFIRMATIVE. Follow me, GUEST."

"You can call me Tails…"

"ON-BOARD MEMORY ACCESS DISABLED. REGISTERED USERS ONLY."

Tails sort of understood what it meant. Was the robot trying to offend him by refusing to remember his name? Then again, a machine was limited to its programming, so he would be better off not pursuing the conversation. Getting smashed to bits by one of Omega's powerful arms didn't appear high on Tails' bucket list, either.

As they reached the building's main section and picked the floor, Tails realised Shadow Corp was an establishment like any other…only with a huge robot at the front door.

And huge lifts, too. Much bigger than what Tails had back at Eggnamco. Obviously, this company needed more room to accommodate special security personnel.

He still couldn't believe it, murmuring under his breath, "Shadow Corp has a robot guard…"

"LICENSED BY FUTURETECH. CUSTOM-MADE E-123 OMEGA AUTOMATON."

The volume deafened Tails, so all he managed to peep out was: "Nice to meet you, Omega."

Omega's tone changed in an instant when his front panel slid down to reveal a touch screen interface. "Will you sign the GUESTbook?"

Tails didn't know why he got the offer so suddenly, but he decided to play along and leave something nice. "Sure!"

Worry coupled with excitement shortened the ride: they reached the designated floor before Tails pushed the _Submit_ button. Omega's screen showed a smiley face in the end and Tails was glad to feel less threatened by the guide while walking down the hall.

Too glad, perhaps, because he accidentally bumped into something soft. A someone, to be precise.

"Hey there! You must be Tails," a female voice said.

Tails looked up to see where the voice came from. He lost his own in the process. "I-I-I…"

He wanted to claw his own eyes out from who he saw. There was no way he just absentmindedly walked into...

"That will be all, Omega," she said. Oh, the beautiful way she said it! Tails wished his ears exploded because every other aural experience in life would be a disappointment compared to this.

Omega seemed unfazed. "INPUT RATING."

"Five stars."

"YOUR FEEDBACK IS IMPORTANT. THIS UNIT WILL PASS QUARTERLY ASSESSMENT."

The owner of the voice produced a smile Tails detected even through blurred vision. "Don't worry about the accident last week, Omega. Shadow probably forgot about it already."

"TESTIMONY RECORDED."

When Omega left, Tails realised he was all alone staring upwards at her nose in a zombie-like fashion. He really wished he was a zombie because he wouldn't have to think about what would happen next. Right now, the fox was up against a white female bat dressed as seductively as high street formalwear allowed it. Tails dared not to stare at her deep cut cleavage, which he suspected she put there to pre-emptively turn every attempt at a perfect strike into a gutterball interview. And she was taller than him.

If Tails had any mental capacity left behind by debilitating terror, the gutter would have been a proper place for said capacity. Tails would have never thought that not thinking could be a solution. Unfortunately, the fox had a poor record at letting his brain take a break, so he fell for the obvious trap.

Everything about the bat was inviting, and Tails knew in the back of his head that it was done on purpose, an evil purpose. Only the most resilient applicants had the nerves of steel required to keep cool in her presence, and even they would have had trouble containing themselves whenever the temptress did anything at all. Even knowing she existed burdened Tails' thoughts. She existed less than a breath away, forcing Tails to stop breathing.

He bounced back and bowed, eyes dug into the floor. Then, he realised the folly of his ways. The bat didn't sound like she hailed from Chun-nan or Mazuri, where bowing was customary. He should have shaken her hand…the folks in Central City did that, and she could have been from there.

Tails consoled himself the best way he could, and if he couldn't save his face, he'd at least hide it from her as long as possible. Not long, considering she wanted to address him.

"My name is Rouge. I run the HR Department at Shadow Corp. My assistant Cream normally handles the introductory interview, but the CEO agreed to do the first round with you, so we can go into more detail now. Please, step inside."

With a swipe of her employee ID card, a portal to a magic place filled with knickknacks as intricate as Rouge herself opened in front of Tails. The fox gulped at the idea that his turn to speak would come the next time the door would shut.

How should he start? Did she care about his college degree? Would she appreciate knowing more about his credentials? Wait… She represented Shadow Corp, a corporate machine that ventured into every field discovered by entrepreneurs to skim all the surplus profit and treat its competitors to ungodly ruthlessness.

That train of thought helped Tails return to thinking with his brain in a way that didn't shut down the rest of his being. Rouge was no different from Omega as a serial sprocket in the system. He considered their exchange to a great effect: Omega seemed oddly concerned for a robot about feedback and a quarterly assessment. Tails had such assessments before, but those were a formality. He was quicker than most at finding certain solutions, and his uncle had an important role in the organisation.

Rouge pointed him to a small coffee table with four cushioned chairs surrounding it. As Tails got seated, the bat picked up an egg timer, a folder and a sheet of plain copy paper. So far, nothing unusual. Tails almost mustered up enough courage to establish eye contact, but it all went to naught when she sat down opposite to him.

Normally, the interviewer would sit next to the interviewee to encourage cooperation. Doing otherwise was a sign of aggression. Uncle Robotnik always did that when he had bad news to share…

"Thank you for coming, Tails. I hope you are satisfied with what you have experienced at Shadow Corp so far."

Tails nodded. He didn't know what to say or do. He didn't even know what she said because of the way she said it. The nod just seemed natural. Judging by how she smiled in response, he did the right thing. The relief was akin to losing a boulder from his back. There were many left, but it was a good start, right?

She picked up the empty sheet and traced her gloved fingers over it, eyes fixated on Tails the entire time. "Right now, you are like this sheet of copy paper. Beautiful, as pure as a field of fresh snow. It is my job to see what, if anything, lies underneath this top layer and decide whether it is sufficient for you to become a proud member of our large corporate family."

He nodded again while his heart sank into a hole. It'd take days to recover from that blow, but he didn't have the time to sulk. She was burrowing into him with her eyes!

Tails had nothing against eye contact, no. He was a sociable person that wanted to be good to everyone. For some reason, though, he thought that being good in anything by Rouge's standards would have been bad. But it'd feel good…that part was obvious, and most worrying.

Reduced to an empty page that lay next to a folder containing what might have been all of Tails' posts in social media, he listened to her, both scared and delighted about his role in the conversation.

"Our company is known for unique recruitment techniques, so don't let the fact you don't know the position you're applying for discourage you. We want the best of what you have, and we want it all, Tails. What do you say?"

"I, uh…"

"Splendid. The methodology is patented, which is why you are needed to sign this release form and NDA. Protection is key to our mutual trust."

It sounded important, so Tails signed the papers provided to him without thinking or breathing.

"Why don't you start by telling me something unique about yourself?"

Intelligence? No, that's what everyone had…to a degree. An influential uncle? No, Rouge must have rejected a bunch of applicants with rich relatives. Having two tails? It was weird, yes, but Tails couldn't guarantee there were no other foxes with such a genetic error. The fox didn't notice when he got paler than a ghost, unlike his companion.

Rouge brought a hand to her lips to hide a smile. "This is perfectly normal. After all, everything depends on my endorsement of your application. I'm sure a cup of tea will help you speak the right words."

She stood up, dragging Tails' eyes up from the table to her face. Gosh, she looked almost his age, and yet she moved with the experienced grace of a fully-developed woman. Tails owned a book about protocol, which gave him some understanding of behavioural canons. He didn't realise anyone could be a perfect representation of protocol and still exhibit great freedom in every step swayed ever so slightly by a pair of high heels.

And Tails didn't care about shoes. A cloud of shame suddenly covered the fox. Eggnamco allowed him to wear running shoes to work. He didn't see anyone else with them at Shadow Corp. Another faux pas of his to add to the list. This time, he didn't dare to sigh about failure; bats had impeccable hearing.

She brought two cups of yellowish fluid to the table. "It is a special blend of Yinzhen reserved for executive interviews. The flavour can easily overwhelm entry-level candidates used to Lapsang souchong, but you've been doing great so far."

He didn't care how she found out his uncle's favourite tea or if that was supposed to be a poke towards the drink's price. If he started to, or got the idea that he could choose to care, his alarm bells would go off the charts and make him jump out the window.

Still, he had to entertain Rouge with a response. "Thank you," he said before taking a gulp. It helped ease the spasms in his throat. Otherwise, just regular tea.

The bat grinned at Tails' expression. "Continue."

She must have meant the interview question. Tails almost forgot about it with all the commotion in his head. Right! Work your magic, brain. "Unique about myself? Well, I don't know. My colleagues at Eggnamco would often compliment me on my intelligence and my ability to tackle various challenges."

Tails cringed at the amount of first-person pronouns in his speech. He was bound to get bummed by this later on. Uncle Robotnik loved poking the applicant about it during showcase interviews.

"Lovely. Here's a challenge for you: say that you are a turnip."

He blinked. "I am a turnip?"

"Say it like you mean it," she pleaded in a cutesy voice while turning the egg timer.

"I am… I am Miles Prower and I hate that name." Tails put a hand over his mouth in a fit of panic. "I didn't just say that out loud, did I?"

Rouge put the timer down. "You did, and those were the right words I wanted. Let's get down to business, Mr Prower. You may begin by telling me about your biological parents."

She picked up the pen and started writing on the empty sheet of paper she'd shown earlier. So much for staying a field of fresh snow…


	4. QA

**Chapter 4: QA**

Charmy stood by the meeting hall's entrance. Normally, Omega would have been there to do the honours, but the robot was selected for a quarterly assessment. Even if he didn't look as menacing in his tiny dark blue suit with wing holes, the bee had the power to pass judgement and a tablet computer containing a list of names. As the SVP of Marketing and Communications, he possessed the clout to compensate for his size.

Every time a new face came in, Charmy would check their ID and direct them to either a red or a blue seat, all arranged in a check pattern. Those walking towards the blue seats seemed particularly blue themselves about the situation.

None of them protested, though. Regardless of the seating, they'd receive an audience from the CEO. Some employees, mostly those barred from accessing the top floors, have never seen him outside the news. Now, they had a chance to meet him in live.

The mysterious internal communiqué they got raised expectations as to what was about to happen. Those with detailed knowledge either did not attend or did not speak of it. Others got bits of morning gossip about the company being in financial peril and its plans to downsize. Doubtless, certain participants would not have a job by the end of the festivities.

As the room became fuller, Charmy checked his list for late entries, whose position could change very rapidly based on his mood. The bee really needed to be someplace else, so he communicated with other departments via headset, hoping to prepare the stage for Shadow in record time.

"Name?" he asked a new entrant without looking up from his tablet.

"E-123 OMEGA. LICENSED BY-"

Charmy interrupted him and waved towards a blue chair in the back.

"DATA IS OBSOLETE."

"Hmm?" Charmy frowned, but decided to check his email just in case. The security robot managed to fulfil management's expectations at the eleventh hour. Charmy buzzed out of the Omega's way, letting him pass. "Red it is. You can stand."

There were over a hundred employees gathered, seated in equal proportions on both sides of a central pathway cleared for the CEO's arrival, expected at any second. Charmy got a message from the IT department saying that they were ready to begin, all equipment in the green.

On a different occasion, Charmy would have amused the audience with a random joke or two, given his position in the company. That day, he found out his boss wanted to do a bit of reshuffling in top management as well. He suspected remaining in the shade would have benefited him more.

He didn't have the time to reconsider: Sonic T. Hedgehog burst in, breathing heavily. The head of the Internal Audit Department was supposed to be the most senior guest among Shadow's audience members. The blue hedgehog didn't participate in assessments outside checking an employee's records for compliance to internal procedures, yet Shadow insisted he experienced the event in person.

"Sonic, I didn't know you'd show up!" Charmy lied.

The hedgehog looked around confusedly. His thoughts shared Charmy's sentiment of being someplace else. "I'll have to leave early. Got an important…meeting…thing. Left, right?"

"Anything as long as it's red." Charmy nodded. The message didn't go through, so Charmy decided to be more specific, "The red seats, front row."

"I deserve to have a blue seat; you know it," Sonic said, pointing at his blue bow tie. That hedgehog was dressed well enough to go on a date with someone. All the more reason to give him a red seat, in Charmy's view.

Charmy ticked Sonic's name off the list. "You're on a fixed-term contract. Don't hold up the line, please."

Listening to Shadow's wordy business nonsense was dangerous up close. Sonic didn't want to be a part of it, yet he couldn't do anything about the situation. His obligations forced him to submit while the contract was in place. Shadow Corp's fines for absenteeism bordered on extortion even well-paid lawyers couldn't save him from.

Such limitations didn't need to apply to the CEO, who arrived a minute late. Clad in a custom black suit, white shirt and red tie combo, he made sure every detail contained a distinctive image of unparalleled perfection. The prevalent colour scheme matched that of Shadow's fur colour on an astronomical scale with pearly white gloves completing the silhouette of Shadow Corp's power vertical.

"Is everything set?"

He got a happy nod in response.

"Good."

Lights faded out and blinds lowered to isolate the meeting hall from the rest of the world. Shadow's theme song played over the loudspeakers as a light followed his footsteps to the elevated stage. The audience sang and applauded upon Shadow's arrival. It was a rare opportunity, and the hype surrounding the mysterious hedgehog drove the less experienced workers into a frenzy.

Much earthlier things happened at the forefront while projectors lit up to showcase Shadow Corp's logo on the walls. Shadow shook hands with the technical staff, grabbed a microphone headset and ordered the teleprompters to be lowered. A single light beamed down where he was supposed to stand.

Everyone fell silent in anticipation.

"As much as I would love to begin by saying you are all fired, you are not. Hence, I will resort to a more generic introduction by thanking you for coming here today."

The applause arrived with a slight delay, booming forward from the far edges to the first row. Sonic didn't get what they were clapping about. Did he miss out on a joke? Sonic checked his pockets for his smartphone and grumbled at the thought that he forgot it back in his office. Too late to get out now…

"It is always informative to see the heart and soul of Shadow Corporation up close. As the Chief Executive Officer, I am delighted to speak to an audience whose dedication helped us fulfil a great deal of expectations put forward by our stakeholders."

He spoke in a collected tone everyone expected from an executive. Those with prior experience of attending his speeches could decipher certain keywords Shadow weaved into every sentence. Others discovered boredom anew. The CEO always scanned the audience for initial feedback to see who's in favour and who was not. The seating arrangement made this all the more apparent. They might not have been aware of it yet, but it was the last day in Shadow Corp for everyone on the blue spectrum of the auditorium. If all went according to plan, they'd end up with zero entitlements.

"Before I inherited the small family business, I had seen the amount of care my parents put into day-to-day activities that differentiated their way of conducting business from everyone else's." Shadow smiled, facing down. The audience could sense the tides he was facing inside. "It was not enough to surpass the harsh reality of the regulated market, though. From hurdle to hardship, the powers that be treated them like toys. Until the toys broke. That is when I stepped in. My parents' kindness inspired me to follow in their footsteps while their misfortunes taught me how to protect my vision from those alien to sharing prosperity with the world." He paused to check if the audience was enthralled. It was. Shadow allowed himself to sound emotional. "I have a dream, ladies and gentlemen of Shadow Corp! You are a part of this dream. Together, nothing can stop us from achieving dominance in the field that matters the most: delivering a promise of well-being to families from the deserts of Mazuri to the icy ridges of Holoska."

Shadow's voice died in applause. They loved hearing this story. Whatever evils the press kept accusing Shadow of, he was the one to save his family from dying in poverty. The ruthless actions he took in the competitive field were all a symptom of a childhood few had the misfortune to experience. He worked tirelessly to become an icon, and even the most ardent critics had to respect that. It was his leadership that turned a local business into a corporate whale consumers encountered no later than at birth.

"Everyone has a right to be happy, and it is our duty as an organisation to distribute this happiness responsibly. From consumers to investors, we must deliver the promise to each and every individual stakeholder." He stopped again, putting a hand in front of his face as if deep in thought. "We have yet to succeed in this task, which is why these QA meetings are essential. They help us put things into perspective…think about where we are now and where we want to be tomorrow. Also, what is stopping us from being there today."

He loved the next part. Shadow didn't ask a question, but there were usually a few victims willing to respond. The pause encouraged them to steal his attention, even if for a split second.

"The government!" came an exclamation from one of the red-seated listeners.

"Losers!" shouted one of the blues, standing up.

"That guy!" pointed a red.

Shadow suppressed a chuckle. It appeared that a few workers familiar with his stage antics somehow got into the QA crowd. Try as they might, they were unprepared for any new material. "These are fantastic answers I will note for later use. The obstacle we must overcome is time. Can any of you make tomorrow come today?"

That was a genuine question. He looked at the audience from one side to the other, inviting members to stand up or speak up. Shadow heard a variety of noises on the negative spectrum until someone worded it out for the rest to hear.

"Time travel is impossible."

"Do you know who invented time travel?" Shadow challenged.

Silent confusion enveloped the audience while Omega fought with an overheating logic chip. The question had a false premise, missing syntax or worse.

"The universe did. It is the oldest invention known to our civilisation. All of us travel through time at a certain pace, with those lagging behind being lost and forgotten. Forward thinking and innovation are key to making sure Shadow Corp stays ahead of the curve. Have any of you seen what lies ahead?"

Even the slowest members of the audience knew not to respond to the trap question by then. Shadow was satisfied with their learning curve, and he sat up on the edge of the stage, more on their level. He smiled to himself, looking down.

"A consolidated consumer goods market with efficient pricing and internalised value." His eyes travelled up from the floor to the many faces above, checking how many of them were alienated. "It is a sustainable paradise that requires no external regulation – a system so evolved that, once established, will go on forever." Shadow put up his hands in elation. Even if they didn't share his vision, the audience realised the CEO was passionate about his work. "Your hearts and minds are bringing this forever into today. Ever closer, ever more brilliant with each task you complete. This brilliance will lurch our business beyond the curve everyone else follows. Until that happens, we are an organisation that, regrettably, needs to evolve."

Shadow stood up and took a few steps along the stage, letting the listeners see only half of him. He pressed his hands together and closed his eyes. An audible sigh reached the microphone.

"In recent months, we have been actively engaged in seeking progressive methods of boosting Shadow Corp's collective evolution. One of the frameworks we employed was M&A or Mergers and Acquisitions. Our most significant acquisition so far, Chaos Incorporated, has produced a visible growth spurt that strained the enterprise's corporate structure."

He dared to mention a real problem that everyone from accountants to solicitors had felt. Shadow Corp and Chaos Inc. produced similar consumer goods, but their corporate cultures were different. Top management had to routinely gather to solve low-level issues during the first few weeks after the deal was struck. Shadow realised there would be opposition to the acquisition, but nothing worked until heads started rolling. Chaos Inc. had to bleed talent for it to be assimilated into the bigger entity. It was a sacrifice no one knew the exact price of.

"I listened to your credible feedback. Your ideas helped us streamline the internal procedures within the core business. That is why we have begun rolling out the process of revitalising our international product range. Futuretech, the consumer arm of Shadow Corp's R&D group, MeteorTech, delivered outstanding results in matching innovation with the needs of a product's target demographic."

Whispers spread throughout the auditorium. Shadow Corp was a big umbrella group with hundreds of enterprises spread across the globe. Some of them had minor functions like optimising the profit tax paid in a certain region. Others provided important infrastructure and support to supply chains. MeteorTech belonged to a third, unique category, which was responsible for Omega's creation, among other bold inventions.

"This amounted to full adoption of the LEAN model in the Mazuri industrial complex to help the company leverage its geographical assets by admitting local outsourcing opportunities. The move has provided a boost in output that encouraged plant operators to create a steady supply of specialist jobs in rural areas and tremendous savings by eliminating operational risks, borne from human error, via automation. I am certain those working in our Station Square HQ experienced the benefits of international communication being limited to a manageable number of high-touch professionals. That said, I want everyone to acknowledge Shadow Corp is great at doing great things on a global scale. You, dear colleagues, are a part of this accomplishment."

Even though Shadow didn't like the whispers, he had to end it on a positive note until the time was right. Shadow checked his watch. Time was not in favour, but he had the confidence that everything would go swimmingly. Shadow's demeanour changed in an instant from being at ease to minor distress, a contrast only the blind would fail to notice.

"Which brings me to the other part. I am aware that some of you are concerned about our immediate future as a public entity. These concerns are unfounded, preposterous and they will be addressed via the strictest methods permissible by federal law. Shadow Corp was, is and will be a safe frontier market investment opportunity that transcends generations."

Something went wrong. The images depicting Shadow Corp's success disappeared along with the lights. They were replaced by a crude direct feed from the stock market. Shadow Corp was deep in the red. Pending sell orders ticked up with every passing second. The whispers he had managed to quench became a sea of words. Bad words.

He made an angry gesture at the technical personnel working in the corner. They scrambled to cut the transmission, but soon discovered that projectors were remotely controlled by the IT department situated a dozen floors down. Someone was trying to sabotage Shadow's presentation.

"There is no reason to panic, dear colleagues. We are experiencing technical difficulties. Security…"

"WORTHLESS CONSUMER MODELS." Omega walked out of the room with laser sights enabled.

It didn't take long for cries to catch up with the market sentiment. Shadow didn't know if those people were overreacting, yet they were sure an embarrassment to look at. Some of them started rising or dialling numbers on their phones.

"The stock price!"

"My pension fund!"

"We've been lied to!"

"Fellow workers, do return to your seats. There _is_ no reason to panic. What you see is a temporary change in the stock price prompted by a fire sale and dissolution of the Creditor Committee," he admitted. Even though it looked like the sentence had to pacify the crowd, it accomplished the opposite. "It doesn't mean your company stock-backed pension funds are worthless. Nor does it mean the stock options you got as 30 per cent of your base salary are worthless."

The situation worsened. Consciously or not, Shadow used a flurry of negatively charged words the employees were unused to hearing.

"Shadow Corp has always had an emergency relief fund of two million for such an occasion. If any of you wish to liquidate your stake in the company, you are free to do so at the fund's expense. The company values your services, and it is aware the minus 20 per cent indication you see is a fundamental issue to those of you who are close to retirement. We are ready to buy the shares back from you at a five per cent bonus, credited to your personal current account."

Technicians managed to get most systems under control. After three failed calls, one of them ran to check what was going on in the IT department. It didn't matter if they'd succeed in turning the projectors off because irreversible damage has been done. Lights turned back on, allowing service staff to corral distressed employees to desks with pre-printed OTC sell orders. Shadow Corp allowed them to sell the stock to get a part of their investment back while it was still worth anything, but the requests would go directly to the company without affecting the market price. It was clear to the more astute that the trumpeted emergency fund would soon run out of money, so they tried to cheat the queue, putting their own health at risk.

Shadow couldn't tell when exactly the requests to issue severance packages began, but he came prepared. Meeting attendants handed out blank forms those willing could sign to end their relationship with Shadow Corp for good.

"I must inform you, however, that contract termination invalidates your outstanding stock options."

For some reason, he thought the warning was a good idea. It didn't save him from getting violent glares that were physically approaching him. Outnumbered and lost for words, Shadow took a deep breath to address the activists in monotone: "As the CEO, I am hoping for your understanding of the state the company is in. Which is why I can personally vouch for a generous two per cent margin on your stock options and Shadow Corp derivatives. Form an orderly line. Be sure to complete the transaction before you accept your severance package available in the lobby."

He nodded for the service staff to begin issuing the necessary paperwork. Despite his best attempts, the document desks were crowded over. Employees mangled their bids before handing the papers over to responsible attendants. The audience no longer wanted Shadow's blood, it appeared, but anything could have tipped their mentality in the other direction.

Shadow felt it safe enough to approach Sonic, who was desperately trying to find a pen to fill out his sell request. "Sonic, brother, I'll need you to make sure the supplies are all accounted for."

"Not before I sell my shares," the blue hedgehog replied absentmindedly.

The CEO grabbed him by the shoulders for a light shake and looked him in the eyes. "What use does money have to you? Let other people worry. You must get to the lobby in case Omega is late. Think of the procedure you endorsed!"

Sonic stared at the piece of paper in his hand. A sour feeling came over him, washing away the impulse the crowd had infected him with. Sonic didn't blame anyone. He just smiled. "Eh, I guess you're right."

Shadow left him with a pat on the back. Others wouldn't be as easy to take care of because they were already storming out of the meeting room. Imagine the obscene emotions a daily 20 per cent loss caused. Sure, the stock price has been dwindling for more than a week, which made the real number in the realm of low 40 per cent, but they were informed of Shadow Corp's policies before they appeared on its payroll.

At least, those who went ahead with the sale. Shadow soon got a call from Espio informing him that NASDAO published the announcement text and trading was stopped for an hour. If anyone didn't manage to get rid of Shadow Corp stock in the secondary market by then, they had an hour of suspense remaining.

In the CEO's point of view, there was none. He sat on the edge of the stage and watched the remaining members of the audience: three quarters of those positioned on red seats. Zero blues. Shadow laughed to himself and made sure the doors were closed before addressing them.

He noticed a few familiar faces. These were responsible for stirring up commotion despite having no interest of doing so. Now, the faces were smiling. They called Shadow a liar, they wailed about pension funds and made the crowd next to document desks look bigger. Shadow didn't have to tell them what to do. Such people took the initiative and made themselves responsible without a prompt. In Shadow's world, it was a commendable action. Perhaps, they didn't quite understand what they were doing because their only sentiment about QA meetings was that Shadow always tried to screw people over during one. Parroting the CEO could have gained them some perks.

IT was extremely tight in Shadow Corp, so the idea of sabotage looked like a sham to get employees to give up their shares. As such, Shadow must have had a very strong belief the price would rise to a record high. Or he had something worse up his sleeve that they were about to find out.

Shadow scattered those thoughts with a slow clap. "Bravo, red team. I wish to receive a list of names, so I may speak to you in a more comfortable setting. Until then, I want you to know the executive lounge opens at 11 AM today. There will be a news crew."

High fives in the background completed the quarterly assessment as Shadow walked out of the room. Still teeming with the crowd's energy, he had an urgent matter to take care of. For that purpose, he took the lift to reach Rouge's office. Like he always did after a QA.


	5. POA

**Chapter 5: POA**

Amy Rose got what she's been dreaming of for as long as she could remember, a date with Sonic T. Hedgehog. She grinned and she twirled, squeeing her way to ecstasy at the idea of what was going to happen.

What _was_ going to happen?

She felt sorry for having asked that question. Amy had known Sonic for a while. Well, more precisely, she had known a lot about Sonic for a while. The dashing hero whose cuteness could only be overcome by his intelligence and fashion sense, had a lot of good character traits under his belt. And Amy was sure he had more than that under his fancy belt. Ahem.

Others would have put his blood bond with Shadow T. Hedgehog, a consumer tycoon loaded beyond a gold digger's dreams, ahead of all that, but Amy didn't. She didn't care about Sonic's money. It had certain perks like unlimited ice cream, unlimited dresses, unlimited…everything, but she was in it for the hedgehog buried underneath. Amy was infatuated with him.

Infatuation… A funny feeling. It drove a girl to the darkest depths of depression in exchange for the tiniest glimmer of hope that they'd eventually be together. Now that she had his text message, the eventuality seemed much more bearable. She'd just need to trot to the Bullion State building, where they'd met before.

It happened once, but Amy remembered it like yesterday. Sonic led a stressful life. As the Director of Shadow Corp's Internal Audit Department, he oversaw all major issues in the company and personally guaranteed that everything was done according to the letter of the law. The tremendous responsibility showed on his face even though he always tried to remain positive.

Few people knew him like Amy did because it was incredibly difficult to get a hold of him. Sonic left home early and returned late, always accompanied by security. His brother Shadow took good care of him. Perhaps, too good for his own good. Sonic felt like a bird in a cage working in what used to be a family business. He wanted to travel the world, do amazingly good things or just make others smile. It wasn't his fault that social status bound him to behaviours alien to his nature.

A few months ago, he could have afforded to say that himself during lunch. Amy enjoyed having lunch with him. More specifically, she enjoyed having lunch in the same restaurant she knew Sonic would visit during his break. One time when security went to the little boys' room, they even exchanged pleasantries. Amy felt the connection, and she was sure Sonic felt it, too.

In fact, she had scientifically plausible evidence. Given her credentials as a freelance writer, she possessed excellent personality analysis skills derived from her experience in fictional character development. The inspired iteration of Sonic from one of her creative works ended up married to the heroine. The book was yet to be published, and Amy wanted to show him the draft to get that final motivational nudge to bring it to the publisher's table.

For some reason, publishers were very excited about this particular work of fiction. Amy would get calls at odd hours in the morning asking very specific questions about the plot. She always refused spoiling the main twists, of course. Even if she yielded to their requests, the work in progress could differ greatly from the final draft.

The first version had a fantasy setting with royalty, magic and a black knight. She thought a children's book would appeal to the masses in these troubled times. Everyone liked to escape reality once in a while, right?

Her ideas didn't seem to interest anyone in the writing circles, though. Agents called the premise boring while reporters refused to even consider the romantic plot. She wanted to prove them wrong by releasing it as originally intended, but she found out that living on bread and water for over a week was very bad for the imagination. She started writing about food more than of the characters' feelings.

It had to change. Amy needed time to rewrite the manuscript in a way that stayed true to the core ideals and appealed to people. She also needed money to pay rent.

Finding contract work with periodicals seemed a lot easier on the surface. How was she supposed to know all the editors cared for was cheap flexible labour? Amy hated being flexible when writing on demand. Normally, it meant picking up a certain outlet's stance on everything from politics to religion according to a strict set of guidelines. Failure to comply netted the company a free article.

She liked calling it an educational experience. Amy wouldn't have called it that herself, but her colleagues appreciated her company more when she inserted a few dictionary words into regular speech. These words later ended up in articles written by her acquaintances. Amy found it flattering at first.

Later on, the leeching annoyed her. She had a falling out with most journalists she used to call friends and bit herself inwardly many times at what it did to her bank account.

Those who did not turn on her the hedgehog learned to cherish. Although Amy hated being the friend in need, she had to settle for the receiving end until her finances picked up again.

Were it not for Blaze, it would have taken a while. The purple feline worked with business articles for the most part, so she always had things to do and places to go. So many, in fact, that she couldn't do everything at once and needed help. Amy needed help, too, which made the relationship mutually beneficial: Blaze would give Amy a mission to type up a text about a specific topic and leave the final touches to herself, so it would meet her employer's expectations.

Even if Amy didn't have much technical knowledge about business, she had a way with words that helped her connect with the readers better than Blaze ever did, an editor's verdict the cat admitted during one of their evening chats.

It wasn't until she was tasked with writing about Shadow Corp's flotation that Blaze found exceptional value in Amy. Blaze was used to keeping her ghostwriters in the shade, but Amy's introspective approach got her thinking the hedgehog knew more than she should have based on her care-free attitude and non-existent career ambitions.

Amy didn't tell Blaze about her special relationship with Sonic T. Hedgehog, and Blaze was happy to pretend she didn't know. All Blaze wanted was to help a friend get back on her feet, so she could write the fantasy book of her dreams. Getting interesting trivia from inside the company on the way was just a bonus.

The best thing was that Amy had no qualms about sharing that information in the articles she wrote for Blaze. Not after Sonic thanked her the first time he had read about his company in _Bullion State_. The article was just a simple story about price wars between Shadow Corp and Chaos Inc. and how things got silent between the two all of a sudden. Blaze got industry experts to comment, and it wasn't long until the businesses involved made a statement about the upcoming merger.

Were it not for Amy's nudge, the topic would have escaped public scrutiny. Sonic emailed her stating she did an amazing job by anonymously informing the press without putting either of them in harm's way. He believed large businesses deserved tight regulation to avoid decisions that could lead to unhappiness spreading across the globe. If things turned bad for Shadow Corp, that would amount to millions of unhappy people.

The success inspired her to learn more about Sonic's place of work. She didn't learn much in the end because the new chief of staff with a background as fishy as her looks banned employees from discussing the company or its practices with anyone, ever. Sonic stopped showing up at their favourite dining place. Amy could spend a good month without a word from him.

She didn't notice how these events trickled into her story and knights turned into angel investors guarding mystical chests of entrepreneurial capital from the evil VC firms. Their behaviour or values didn't change; only the verbiage and images did.

Blaze was speechless when she read a few pages. Then, she went "Wow!" for five seconds and hugged Amy like no tomorrow. She insisted that Amy published the book ASAP and went pro. Clearly, the girl outgrew her shoes as a ghostwriter.

If only Sonic were to know about their success… Amy always credited him for inspiring the accomplishment.

He did more than inspire her. Late one night, she found an email from a temporary address containing a text file written in the most laborious form of language she's ever seen. No subject line; only a single sentence lay in the email's body: "THE WORLD MUST KNOW".

Amy did what she thought was right. She did what she thought Sonic would want her to do by forwarding the file to Blaze. The cat was staying in a hotel, having just returned from a business trip, so it took Amy a few tries to get her attention. It sounded urgent. It sounded important. Most importantly, it sounded like something Blaze could do.

The cat's reaction left more to be desired. She didn't believe a word written in the transcript. Doing the opposite would have had implications deeper than any scoop Blaze managed to get on her own. Shadow Corp was in trouble. Finally!

She wanted to comfort Amy in a time of plight, but Blaze needed to finish some fact checking before doing as the hedgehog had suggested. Blaze ordered room service to bring coffee and woke up her usual sources.

Shadow Corp was vacant during weekends, but one floor close to the top had lights on that Saturday night. The parking lot accommodated a surprising number of lavish cars, including the CEO's black limo.

That limo remained parked by the entrance even after everyone else had left. One of the vehicles had licence plates that belonged to Eggnamco. Blaze's informant confirmed that Mr Robotnik was absent from his usual weekend activities, and he returned home very late.

Shadow was seen leaving together with Sonic. Their moods were diametrical opposites.

If Sonic decided to voice his concerns about the company to the public, why did he pick Amy as his messenger? Blaze had suspected that the hedgehogs were involved in a relationship of sorts, which gave Amy an edge in gathering intel, but it didn't make sense. For Sonic, it was a conflict of interest. Whistleblowing on his own brother's shenanigans seemed out of this world in Blaze's head.

Something fishy was going on in Shadow Corp. That part she was certain of. Everything else would surface in due time. No turning back. Once Blaze shared her findings with the magazine's editor, the wheels started turning like Sonic and Amy wanted.

At least, that's how Blaze saw it.

In Amy's point of view, it meant saving her boyfriend from a sad fate in his brother's business. She wasn't an idiot; she saw how Sonic suffered from having to support things he saw wrong just because a family member was involved. If recent events were particularly hard on the blue hedgehog, he'd have his catharsis. She'd save him from being bullied into silence. Amy would make sure of it.

And Sonic made sure her heart fluttered after the fact. No later than the magazine reached newsstands, Amy got a text message from Sonic. It was his number, the number he gave her when they first talked.

He hadn't used it ever since the company cracked down on his social life, leaving him under constant surveillance of Shadow's lieutenants. They pretended to be his friends, but all they wanted was to leech on Sonic's thoughts and report on every one of them to Shadow.

Amy hoped they didn't blackmail him because of what he could have told them. If so, she'd find a way. Amy had made friends in Station Square, and Blaze would be there to defend the couple from Shadow Corp's slander.

She sighed at those thoughts. Both would have time to worry after the date. Right now, she had to hurry. Sonic was waiting for her. If Amy turned up late to their first date, she'd bite herself so badly.

The hedgehog bit herself, anyway. It wasn't their first date, right? Just the first date for weeks, or months. It didn't matter; she saw the Bullion State building and a white hybrid SUV with emergency lights turned on next to it. That was just the kind of car Amy expected Sonic to have: cosy, powerful, and with a pure heart.

Plus, "S0N1C" written on the licence plate. Her date had a hint of whimsy that made him all the more attractive.

The moment the rear door opened, she didn't hesitate to jump onto the passenger seat. Amy wanted to start off with the cutest intro she's been practicing on her way. Sonic deserved it.

"Kya!"

Amy must have blacked out from the surge of emotion after being reunited with her one true love. The world was spinning before her eyes, hues of purple and blue interchanging. She sighed contentedly and sank into the warm comfy feeling. The leather seats were out of this world. Amy wondered if they'd be as comfortable to…

"Open your eyes. You're daydreaming."

The high-pitched voice startled her. She looked around quickly and found a suited male bee on the other side. He was playing a game on a hand-held console.

"W-where's Sonic?" she asked.

Before the bee could answer, she noticed the car was moving. The doors were locked and there was no indication of Sonic having ever been there. Was she…was she being kidnapped?!

"Help! Sonic! Police! I've been kidnapped!"

The bee threw a paper ball at her head. "Aw, shuddup. I'll have to restart the level because of you."

Amy's manuscript was on the floor. That bee had crumpled up and thrown one of her story's pages. The gall of him!

"Touch me and I'll sting you again," he hissed pre-emptively.

"I'm calling Sonic. He'll show you up!"

The captor returned to his game. "Sonic's a no show, I'm afraid."

She yelped, having discovered that little creep had stolen her phone. What other evil things has he done while she was unconscious? Amy thrashed in hopes of getting the door to open, breaking the window, something! All she got was tired frustration while tears welled up in her eyes.

A screen attached to the seat in front of her turned on. Charmy mumbled something under his breath while the video loaded. He didn't want any business with that dame. In his view, he was just a messenger, who owed someone a favour.

Amy cried out at what she saw in the clip. It was her! That witch! The one responsible for separating them. She wanted to tear the screen apart, but the hedgehog was too overwhelmed by dread to move a muscle. Amy just stared at the smug bat girl, a conniving evil that corrupted everyone she touched.

She's done the research. Rouge had suspicious holes in her CV. No one knew what she's been doing for years. Shadow Corp's website said Rouge used to work in a government agency before ending up in the company. The bat made a stunning career, which put her in charge of hiring for the whole corporation. More often than not, however, she was responsible for people leaving than joining.

None of the ex-employees wished to share what they had experienced. They only mentioned being glad not to encounter Rouge ever again. She represented everything Amy disliked about the world, a personification of self-absorbed materialism that would manipulate others to reach her immoral goals. Such a woman could not have had a goal that was moral; she didn't have a drop of morality inside!

"Hey there," Rouge grinned in the video. "I hope you like Sonic's car. He's been pimping it out for you."

Amy screamed. The bat knew. She knew everything. Dark thoughts swarmed inside Amy's brain. There was no telling what would happen to her…

"Seriously, Ms Rose, calm down! I'm trying to concentrate," the bee complained about the noise.

Rather than strangle him, Amy threw herself at him, weeping loudly.

"Hey, get off! There's no pause button in this game."

"How could you let her do this to us? She took him away!" she wailed, shaking the bee violently.

"Lady, you settle down! I'm on a tight schedule." His arms were flailing, but that wasn't enough to make her stop. "Look! Hey, I'm talking to you. No one's going to lay a finger on you. Just sit there for a minute and off you go."

Panting, he couldn't free himself. Amy held onto him like a vice until Rouge's voice brought the hedgehog back to her seat, trembling.

"Sonic can't be with you right now. He's busy working, as he should be. Ever since you showed up, the Director of our Internal Audit Department has been having trouble concentrating on important tasks. He used to be a star, and you turned him into a shade of his former self, a laggard with no concern about his own safety or his company's income statement. You have undermined his dedication to the family business. You created external costs and burdened our organisation with repeated attempts to reduce his productivity. Such grotesque risk mismanagement is unacceptable."

Amy swallowed the accusations like a bitter lump. The bat wanted to mess with her head. To break her spirit. It wouldn't work! Even as Amy's voice quivered, her beliefs stayed strong.

"You took away his freedom…his friends, his life. All he can do thanks to you is work and sleep, like a drone."

"Sonic is a prime asset of Shadow Corp. His brother has endless care for him as a consequence. Assets must be protected from barracudas such as yourself. At first, we thought you could be trusted, that you were different. You broke this trust when you sold everything he told you to the media. You betrayed him, forced an innocent soul to shed the values of his family to benefit a corrupt news outlet. How much money did your clients pay you, hmm? How much did you get for selling yourself?"

The hedgehog pulled on her quills at the atrocities she heard. "Liar! You broke him! You always wanted to break him; you just needed an excuse."

Rouge smiled all of a sudden. Amy found the smile cruel, considering the poison Rouge spewed without batting an eyelash. The bat dared to speak as if Amy was her friend.

"Your secrets are safe with me, Amy Rose, as are Sonic's. Even if you break my trust, you can trust me to stay true to my word. Emotions may make it difficult to understand, but I wish the very best to Sonic and you. Just that your best cannot come at his expense."

Amy didn't like where this was going. She grabbed the door's handle in hopes of having it budge. Nothing. Trapped like a rat. Forced to eat up the bat's sweet-smelling arsenic.

"Shadow Corp is generous to its employees. It encourages positive involvement among co-workers throughout their lifecycle. As such, the company is willing to internalise the costs associated with you, provided your participation accelerates orderly accretion of added value within Sonic's unit."

"What?!"

"Let me put it in a way your pink-dyed brain can understand: work for us and you will be able to see Sonic as much as he likes."

The bee offered no consolation to her tears. Neither did Rouge's recording. The bat stood there, waiting with her face full of mischief. It was just a game to her…evil heartless women treated others like toys in Amy's stories.

It didn't take long for her to present a condition supposed to break Amy into even more pieces. Amy didn't dare speak out. She had already figured the price out and lowered her head in defeat…

"Our generosity connects with an employee's allegiances. Your reward depends on you following the same rules Sonic does, and severing your ties with the media. Completely."

She frowned, suppressing her sniffles. "That makes you vile and crazy. I feel sorry for you, Rouge. If putting people in a workaholic prison is generous…" Amy shook her head, lost for words.

"Naturally, should you decide to miss out on the opportunity, I have an alternative on the table." Rouge picked up a thick notarised document folder to let the camera focus on the first page. "A restraining order. You may not approach Sonic T. Hedgehog, his property or the property of his family members and acquaintances within a kilometre radius. You are forbidden to attempt contacting him in any shape or form, with unsolicited communication being regarded as a gross breach of terms that carries a fine with more digits than your phone number. Speaking of your phone number…" She then put the document down and snapped her fingers.

On Rouge's cue, Charmy pulled out a small piece of plastic Amy identified as her phone's SIM card. The insect snapped it in half.

Rouge mused over Amy's sorrow while playing with Sonic's mobile. "Don't worry. The last thing you sent him was: 'Date's off. I have someone else now.'" Before Amy could protest her lungs out, Rouge bent over to look closer into the camera. She spoke in an informal, almost alluring tone. "We're not playing games here, Ms Rose. Shadow Corp puts great care into securing an asset, and the POA Sonic granted me during a routine signing makes protecting him from your malice as easy as ending your career in a pile of dirt."

The car slowed down just as Amy's heart drummed quicker. She needed air. Amy felt her willingness to live wither away as she continued listening. Sonic would have never knowingly agreed to push her away so rudely. When she got out, she'd ring up every official in Station Square and fight for his freedom.

"I hope you understand that if you bring this up with the authorities, you will be treated like any other desperate stalker. This is a good moment to remind you that Shadow Corp prefers your cooperation. Your interview is at noon tomorrow. Sonic will be waiting for you in the office…with me."

With that, Rouge winked to the side and the car stopped. The door became unlocked, allowing Amy to run off, forgetting her belongings. The hedgehog wanted to hide her face in her hands, but even doing so couldn't contain the tears. They streamed between her gloved fingers just like any semblance of hope to right the wrongs in her relationship with Sonic.

The dream date turned out to be a nightmare without a wake-up call.


	6. Q&A

**Chapter 6: Q&A**

Everything happened too quickly not to rouse suspicion.

I spent most of Sunday getting over a headache. At least, the hotel gave me a discount for the run in with room service. They even wanted to give me some of the flowers cleared from the presidential suite after the intended VIP failed to show up. I asked for the VIP's name – you don't normally order a suite to be filled with flowers – but they couldn't help me. Confidential info.

The bellhop who tried to choke me promptly apologised. He had wanted to warn me not to open the door when the nth tray of flowers went by. Mistakes happen, so I called Big to see if everything went well on his end.

It did. He rounded up the team to replace one of the leaders with a piece about Shadow Corp. The magazine had bits and ideas about a big editorial before. They just needed something to make it all stick. My scoop...well, the scoop Amy dug out for me, happened to be the missing ingredient.

When a whale like Shadow T. Hedgehog was involved, he got lavish coverage which, in turn, netted _Bullion State_ great sales. The way it has always been was that writers got royalties based on meeting certain targets. Getting one's article featured counted as two in one.

There was no way they'd leave the issue off the cover page. Shadow Corp has always been a thorn in our side with how neatly everything seemed to work for them. Banks were feeding them money, which they'd churn into cheap consumer goods that brought shareholders routine dividends. That part was bog standard public entity tripe.

Litigious and prickly management separated them from the rest. No interviews and no comments from employees or shareholders. It looked like most of them were up to their ears in NDA juice, so the only means of communication was via press releases and marketing fluff that resulted in positive if not boring news.

Getting negative press on them never got beyond profit tax optimisation. Shadow Corp had a very complicated corporate structure that regular people couldn't get to know. The HQ based in Station Square served as an administrative building with a representative function. Despite this, half the employees were brought there by hiring agencies rather than via the company's own HR department. Ergo, they weren't directly employed by Shadow Corp. The company relied heavily on outsourcing, an odd practice to use in a head office.

It was even more odd in regional subsidiaries. Shadow Corp spawned droves of SMEs that applied for all sorts of government aid from property amortisation hikes to free emissions packages that riled up the greens. At the same time, these entities had low transparency because most of their activity happened in territories that did not allow third parties to gain access to their financial reports.

As such, anyone could look at the rough subtotals in Shadow Corp's operations. Jumping through hoops began when attempting to decipher the contents of huge sums like R&D or administrative expenses. The government wanted to see a few figures explained to them. Oh, they got an explanation in the mail, all right…

Two years later, all they translated into human language was a wordy equivalent of the finger. In short, the request had to be passed on to the local authorities that held the accounting documents to avoid breaking the law. Given how politics normally go, it's naïve to think the governor of Mazuri would grant officials from Chun-nan permission to inspect the most innovative local SMEs because the mayor of Station Square, who was involved for some reason, asked them to. It made sense because all those separate companies belonged to Shadow Corp in one form or another, but dodgy legislation removed the possibility of effective cooperation without upsetting one of the parties. Mazuri had a preferential status as the global factory. It didn't want to give up any information about its competitive advantage, lest it would lose the manufacturing jobs to Chun-nan or another region eager to take its crown.

Corruption took care of the rest. Shadow Corp's daughter companies worked in environments considered too risky for robust operation due to unsettling local colour. To the natives, reps toting oversized briefcases full of rings was a public secret. Everyone else pretended not to see it happen because Shadow Corp's idea of business entailed adapting rather than steamrolling through a new market. Until the company had a grasp firm enough to start making demands, of course. Shadow could afford losing a factory director if bureaucrats got exceptionally greedy.

Such events were usually concluded by political purges on the other side, so the statesman and Shadow Corp had clean faces to work with. Unfortunately for the local government, its new representative then had to work with a well-established business rather than a frail newcomer. Requesting a bribe or protection money in those conditions amounted to political suicide. Unless they had caught wind about trouble brewing in the parent company.

No less than a hurricane was supposed to sweep Shadow Corp after the creditor meeting resulted in a meltdown. When a company fails to appease its major lenders, it ends up under administration or collapses on the spot. Shadow Corp was too big to end in a chaotic fashion because it had plenty of valuable assets, but its lack of internal transparency made it impossible to check who owned those assets. In the worst case, they could have already been repossessed due to forfeited loans.

Shadow Corp had a network of small businesses to rely on. If these were healthy, the head office could squeeze them for liquidity to pull through a storm. However, if the glossy apple was rotten to begin with, Shadow had nowhere to run.

I had no illusions about the outcome, so I kept my cool when the magazine went to press. Big prepared a surplus amount of copies, expecting a spike in sales. Marketing boys told him other newsmakers had nothing of the sort in the works. Few things that interest the business world happen over the weekend, anyway. Getting such a bombshell out there gave us something to look forward to.

Had we known the magnitude of the events waiting to happen, I'd have suggested not putting up any ads or banner campaigns online. Our website went down in the early hours on Monday and wouldn't cope with incoming traffic for hours. It wasn't until technicians got the hosting company to enable a physical firewall that subscribers regained access. While they scurried to fix issues that looked tiny in the full picture, the rest of us had coffee and prepared for the NASDAO trading session to begin.

My cup fell down when I looked at Shadow Corp's ticker: the company was haemorrhaging millions every passing second.

I ran to my laptop to see what our news aggregator had to say. Speculators panicked and punters were caught off guard, but it wasn't because of the article. Monsieur Mephiles, an influential financier and hedge fund manager, appeared in an interview that gave the market a seizure.

At the same time, I got a text from Amy, who seemed to be the only person happy with the outcome. She didn't seem to care that thousands of people may have just lost their jobs along with their life savings in company stock-backed pension funds. The pink hedgehog only cared about the date she got with Sonic. Rather than chide her for the out-of-place comment, I congratulated her on a job well done. Bigger things were happening, and if the girl wanted to celebrate in a moment of grief, I didn't want it to distract me.

Shadow Corp's situation weighed down on other public companies in the consumer sector. They didn't lose a quarter of their value in under an hour, but our market analyst expected trading to end in the red with the loss leader taking a severe beating before noon.

It happened earlier than that. NASDAO put trading on halt at 11 AM. I secretly hoped trading would continue after a while because the article only raised questions about certain things happening in Shadow Corp. We didn't publish an obituary, which sounded more suitable if one was to look at the numbers.

The consumer giant's PR team must have been doing immediate damage control because they covered the ticker's disappearance with a product announcement. No washing liquid or soda could give a house of brands enough momentum to regain 20 per cent of its value. It just didn't work that way.

Regardless, they now had an hour to work out a plan to avoid the next shutdown being issued by the market regulator, which would have opened the floodgates to wash away any semblance of hope Shadow Corp had. Not much, considering the stock price was in the red for all of last week because of negative chatter the company failed to respond to in a timely fashion.

Inspired, I asked if I would get to cover their bankruptcy filing. Big chastised me for the thought despite penning my name among the candidates to do the article. Everyone involved had the same thoughts: would trading resume after the hour went by or was it just a graceful farewell?

I didn't have the chance to word it out more eloquently because my inbox became packed with messages and requests for more information. Our subscriber base took the discussion to the forums. Since Shadow Corp kept silent throughout the crisis, the media forwarded inquiries to _Bullion State_. Before I knew it, my schedule was packed for the entirety of that week.

Perhaps, Amy's glee wasn't as out of place as I initially thought. We made news happen. Our work unearthed questions everyone was meaning to ask. As I prepared for my first appointment, Big briefed me on the extent of information I could share with the TV rep. Shadow Corp was wounded, not dead, so premature statements had damaging potential.

Standard pep talk, for all I cared.

Five minutes before the interview, I saw the news crew drive up to the building. Rather than park, though, they called me to apologise about the cancellation. Shadow Corp agreed to talk to them, instead. The second and third appointments met the same fate.

Something was happening, and I was out of the loop. Big confirmed that he received a standard rejection from Shadow Corp's Marketing and Communications Department. The company must have hand-picked the press that wouldn't give it a hard time during the conference. Our perks came in the form of news subscriptions and one-off sales that, indeed, went like hotcakes.

Just that it looked like we wouldn't be able to capitalise on these one-offs without further access to the source. Not going to happen, given our unbiased, critical approach.

Still, we didn't want to just sit there twiddling our thumbs, so I called Amy thinking she'd like to try slipping into the press conference along with other visitors. Her phone was switched off. I assumed the date was going well and decided to travel alone.

Had to get a taxi because my car wouldn't start. The pinch of bad luck didn't bother me because this month's bonus was going to pay for the car's fried electronics with plenty to spare.

The part that actually got me worried was Shadow Corp's robotic bouncer. Futuretech were out of their minds to ship military-grade weaponry as personal security. That machine checked every visitor's ID and photographed them at the door. Stowaways were laser-guided out of the premises.

I gulped as I put out my passport and faced the robot. It didn't look good, but a white SUV that parked next to the entrance distracted the guard. Shadow's talkative marketing bee buzzed out in a hurry.

The robot was ordered to move away and let everyone in. Apparently, executives had a busy day ahead of them, so the press conference had to go by quickly. I decided to postpone my critique of the sentiment till I got to sit down to write the article.

We entered a conference room that looked more like a lounge. They had fancy food and entertainment ready. Not bad for a company about to go bust…

"Esteemed members of the press, thank you for accepting our product launch party invitations on such short notice. It is an honour to see so many familiar faces. The CEO is scheduled to make a speech today and you will have 30 minutes of Q&A afterwards. However, he will not respond to any questions regarding the big red button stand our service staff just put behind me. The treats are free, by the way," Charmy announced.

I didn't care about the button on a pedestal, so I searched for people to interview. Judging by the hairstyles and camera sizes, Shadow Corp scored a few anchors that showered the bee with smiley comments. Those busy eating seemed to be employees rather than media representatives, so I walked up to a pair most likely to talk.

A geeky silver hedgehog next to a young fox were munching on canapés when I approached them.

"Hi, I'm Blaze. Bullion State," I said, extending my hand.

"Nice!" the hedgehog said with his mouth full. He cleaned his palm against his trousers and pointed at the fox before shaking my hand. "This is Tails and my name is Silver. Shadow Corp." He smiled at me in the end. It was the innocent kind of smile with a managerial glint floating underneath.

I withdrew from the handshake, feigning disappointment. "Ah, I thought you were with the media…"

Silver didn't seem to notice the change in tone and continued looking upbeat. "You could say that. We're from Marketing and Communications."

"Sounds important. Are you participating in the press conference?"

"Nah. I'm just a Team Leader. It's Tails' first day on the job, so I'm showing him around."

The hedgehog felt small while saying that, so I decided to go ahead with my plan. "Sweet! Mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Sure, as long as they're not getting published."

"Oh, okay…" was all I said.

Admittedly, the answer disappointed me. His fox friend didn't say a word to back me up, so I was unlikely to get anything worthwhile from staff. They must have received a proper briefing. Silver must have noticed my frustration because he decided to console me.

"I'm not very good at entertaining readers. You'll have a better shot with the marketing chief over there."

I sighed, facing away. "Looks like he'll be busy for a while…"

"A busy bee. Hah, hah! Oh! Are you taking part in the red button thing?"

Silver wasn't very good at cheering me up, but he was tenacious. I'd give him that.

"I've been meaning to ask what was up with that," I lied.

"It's a secret, but if you are on Dr Bee's list, you might get to shake hands with the CEO." He then picked up two drinks and offered me one. "Punch?"

"No, thank you."

"Oh, okay…"

I left him standing there baffled for a moment. The hedgehog was just trying to be nice, I know. On a different day, I would have given him a pat on the back for the courteous advances, but I had a job to do and Silver didn't have anything useful to say. Tails solved his co-worker's drink problem by taking the other glass. Those two had a nice time chatting on their own.

I, however, was thirsty for info. As preparations for the CEO's arrival went on, Charmy retreated deeper into a corner, away from everyone's attention. He would only occasionally exchange whispers with someone. Shadow was on everyone's minds.

Hence, the CEO entered with royal pomp. He mingled only with the chosen ones able to provide access to federal channels or international publishing houses. A few leagues above yours truly, yet I swallowed the pill, as did most of my colleagues. The upper hand wouldn't belong to the CEO at the start of the Q&A session, and I've had a few killer questions. Judging by the looks he got from the side lines, so did the others.

I had a voice recorder on during his speech. He was infamous for spewing nonsense to the public. It looked nice in box quotes, which might have been the only reason why he poured so many words into a sentence. The marketing bee was grinning from ear to ear the entire time. Obviously, this wasn't an impromptu. Those guys had everything down to a tee.

Except for myself. The bee would poke his stylus at a reporter as if making a mental note and ticked their name on his tablet computer. He stopped when he noticed me. The next time I saw him, he _accidentally_ bumped into me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Missus, um, Miss?" he fumbled.

I looked away. Clever insect…he would have called security if he found out who I was working for, and he wanted to look smooth while doing so. I quickly scanned the room, thinking about the bigger newsmakers that were absent from the crowd.

"Mrs Kat." I huffed.

Charmy suppressed a frown while scrolling down his pre-approved list of attendees. "Ah, I see. Are you representing someone today?"

He deserved a slap for that one. Then again, he was right: I didn't act like a news anchor, so it was logical to assume an invitee picked me as a last minute stand-in, other suspicions aside. I could have yielded, but I didn't know what to expect in response. Instead, I replied with cool indignation.

"My surname is frequently mistyped, so I don't mind the question."

He bowed and gave me the stylus. "Allow us to correct this oversight, Mrs Kat. Please."

I crossed out a similar-looking name with a red minus next to it on the screen. The first name field had to be filled as well, so I decided to play genuine there. Mrs Blaze Kat.

"Charmy," he said upon checking the result. A plus appeared next to my pseudonym.

"Huh? Charming?"

Must have hit the bull's-eye. The bee got a taste of what it felt like to get one's name wrong, which made the brand building part of his brain fizz.

"No. My name. Is Charmy. I should have been clearer, I'm sorry." He floated up close enough for me to hear him whisper, "Listen, I don't want this to end up on a late night show."

"What are you suggesting?" I asked playfully. Yep, Shadow Corp wasn't prepared for a little old Blaze.

"A surprise," he cooed, satisfied with my reply. The bee then crept up to the hedgehog I chatted with earlier. Charmy didn't look too happy anymore. "Silver…"

Not my problem. Besides, Shadow was about to finish his speech. The voice boomed an octave below his normal level. If anything, I've been glad to see it happen. Come hither, question round!

"With our most innovative value offer yet hitting store shelves on this very day, Shadow Corp is ready to celebrate the news with the public by allowing the curious and the creative into the company's intellectual inner sanctum, Futuretech. This is the only exclusive we are making available this year, so lend your applause to…"

He paused. If anyone hadn't dedicated their full attention to Shadow before, they were giving it all to him now. The CEO pressed the big red button with a pronounced aerial motion. On cue, projectors flashed "Blaze Kat" on the walls. Victory music played and everyone applauded whilst searching for the lucky person.

I gulped. If that was the surprise Charmy promised me, I may have gotten more than I could chew. As soon as a light beamed down from the ceiling to illuminate me, everyone cheered for me to approach the CEO.

Shakily, I walked up to Shadow, who greeted me with the most surreal smile a business tycoon could exhibit. I had him! I could do anything now to expose him as the corrupt slave driver that he was. I could embarrass him for the shoddy financial record that sent his stock reeling. I could…

"Congratulations, Mrs Kat!" he exclaimed exuberantly and grabbed my hand. "You're going to Futuretech!"

Camera flashes blinded me as soon as he said that. Shadow positioned himself in a way that forced me to face the press, giving everyone gathered in the lounge that perfect cover shot. I knew in the back of my head the corporate behemoth was exploiting me, but I couldn't help euphoria clouding my judgement during the handshake.

Rather than let go, Shadow strengthened his grip and guided me closer. To look into his eyes. "Tell me, Mrs Kat, how do you feel?" he asked. The genuine lottery winner question rendered me speechless when I saw the dastardly flame dancing in his eyes.

Every other sensation was surpassed by the weakness in my legs. Then, the world went black.

I recall mild panic and cameras clicking into action, but the sounds floated in a thick haze. When it withdrew, I found myself sitting in the corner with Silver waving a fan in front of me. Ugh!

"Tell me I didn't just…"

Silver kneeled in front of me, worried. "Should I call an ambulance? You had us very worried when you fainted, Mrs Kat."

I put a hand in front of my face and sighed. "No, I'll be fine. I just…"

That's when I became aware of the rest of my surroundings. The CEO finished with the last reporter to tour Futuretech and announced the Q&A round, the part I came for.

To wipe the smug grin off the CEO's face and not faint while doing so.


	7. Amy

**Chapter 7: Amy**

I rushed to the front of the pack. "I've got a question, Mr Hedgehog!"

Shadow smiled and nodded in response. A newsman next to me grumbled something about jumping out of line, but I couldn't care less. If these bootlickers had nothing good to say, they should have just walked away to leave room for people with a voice.

Even though the crowd's attention weighed down on me, I went ahead with the question: "Shadow Corp shares fell 20 per cent today, the sharpest dip in a two-week period of being in the red. What are your comments, Mr Hedgehog?"

I did it! The question that could easily end my career was now on every voice recorder in the room. If someone didn't have theirs on before, they definitely put it out to save the reply. Judging by the look on the attendees' faces, they wouldn't have dared to start it off with such a bang. The reaction almost made me wish I kept silent. Almost.

The CEO examined me with a thoughtful look before diverting his gaze to Charmy, who, in turn, motioned over to the technical staff. Movement occurred in the background while Shadow stood still.

When his attention met everyone else in the room, the hedgehog clasped his hands. I wasn't going to get my answer. The things he wanted to say were important to everyone, and so he wanted to address them at once.

"Shadow Corp is a champion of entrepreneurial spirit that spearheads innovation in the consumer goods market to bring added value investor sentiment requires time to assess. That time is now…"

Lights focused on the wall behind Shadow. It was a live feed from NASDAO. Trading had resumed seconds ago and Shadow Corp was already 20 per cent in the green. At first, I thought it was a sham, but they wouldn't have risked lying to the media. A quick check with my leads confirmed the numbers Shadow presented.

I cringed; my question had a false premise. They'd hound me as soon as the conference was over. It was sure over for me. When the others rushed to ask petty questions about the "unbelievable turnaround" or request advice to "inspire the youth", I knew I wouldn't get anything out of him. Ever again, perhaps…

Ran out with my tail between my legs the moment I got within a comfortable distance to the door. I couldn't handle more of my colleagues' scornful looks: Shadow put me in a place I deserved to be in as a biased faker. Nothing like the _true professional journalism_ the smooth talking anchors expressed, no.

Something was up in the lobby, but I didn't have the energy to pay attention. All I wanted then was to grab a taxi and find a nice deep hole to sulk in. Big was bound to have a constipation if someone told him the cartoon antics I resorted to in order to get inside the press conference only to leave without results.

At least, no one at Shadow Corp knew my real name.

"Taxi!" I shouted at a yellow car driving by.

What harm knowing my real name would have done, anyway? I was just a little person the company had nothing to worry about. Sure, I liked making myself appear more important than I actually was, but that's what every reporter does to get to the real facts.

"Taxi!"

The cab stopped a small distance away from me. I didn't want anyone to take it away from me. Traffic in this part of town has always been unpredictable.

I sat down with a sigh of relief.

"To the _Bullion State_ building," I heard someone else say.

Gah, another passenger! Some spiny jerk wearing an overcoat snuck in from the other side even though he clearly saw I had the taxi booked. "Excuse me, I got here first," I complained.

The weird-looking hedgehog seemed to ignore me at first, busy with his wallet. "I believe we are going in the same direction."

He pulled out a business card and gave it to me.

I wanted to throw it away; wasn't in the mood to be hit on by a stranger. Sure, some people would have told me it helped, but I had enough bitterness from making a cock up in front of my colleagues to disregard such advice.

About to grab the door handle, I took a quick glimpse at the card. "Monsieur Mephiles…"

The taxi started moving as I froze on the spot. I wasn't stupid enough to think I could up a financier like Mephiles after failing to scratch Shadow's flimsy reputation. The opportunities behind having a personal conversation with Mephiles had me blinded until I reached a more prosaic explanation to his interest.

"There is no need for names. They merely impede our progress."

I lowered my head, not breathing a word. He couldn't have known about my fake identity during the press event. If he did, it changed little; Mephiles had something to hide himself because he made everyone think he had left the country. Being upset about the whole Shadow Corp ordeal didn't numb my thoughts, but I failed to register how much he enjoyed my dissatisfaction.

Mephiles looked in the opposite direction to let me regain composure and become more susceptible to probing. "Our mutual friend is not playing fair," he said.

"He is not my friend."

There was a pause. Mephiles checked his wallet again. "My partner will be happy to hear that."

"Your partner?"

"Dr Nega wishes to extend _heartfelt congratulations_ for your work. He considers your skill and commitment _sufficient _to level the playing field."

An offer. I got an offer from a CEO. Two of them, to be precise. On another day, I would have considered it a dream come true. Reality had nothing of the sort, yet I decided not to voice my concerns in front of him.

The cab was approaching my workplace, so I met the hedgehog half-way with a smile. "That is very flattering of him. However, I am not open to offers at the moment." I, then, turned to the driver for my G_et Out of Jail Free_ card. "How much?" I asked, and quickly paid what was due to avoid spending another moment with Mephiles.

"I have the money to-" he began. I didn't let him finish.

"Buy yourself an ice pop, sir."

He didn't react to my vitriol, which surprised me. A tycoon of his stature rarely heard rejection. It looked like he even expected a putdown in the end because all I got from him was a calm "The offer stands as long as you do."

If he said anything after that, I didn't hear it. I forcefully shut the door behind me and walked away. The second sigh of relief came when the taxi drove away along with the possibility of something going horribly wrong. Truth be told, nothing good can come out of a free lunch. When the freebie is a bottomless money pit, it sends me chills when I give it too much thought.

Mephiles had a sore tooth about Shadow Corp. Otherwise, he wouldn't have pulled a thinly-veiled black hat PR stunt. My article must have been a convenient excuse for him to drag the company's name through the mud. Good for him. If he wanted to thank me for making his job easier, he could have sent me flowers, though. It must have cost him to arrange a situation I had no means of getting out of without hearing his offer.

Levelling the playing field for Shadow Corp would have been nothing short of a smear campaign the ones in charge found too dirty to do on their own. Mephiles had much more experienced people on his roster, but he went for an expendable outsider.

For whom he found enough time in his schedule. That last part made me cringe. I didn't want to get involved in some childish spat between a pair of prickly hedgehogs I had next to no information about. Few people had any intel on Mephiles or his personal life. His involvement in the business world was transparent and he frequently attended conferences to present his views. Everything else, like the fact he was supposed to leave the country after giving an interview at the airport, stood behind a shroud of mystery. If he had a family, they shared his silent disposition.

Shadow dealt with things differently. His business empire raised more questions than it raked in government subsidies, and one could expect only the sketchiest estimates of the amounts involved. The propensity to give convoluted non-answers during speeches didn't help anyone lacking a well-paid language analyst. As a person, though, he had simple routines and boring hobbies rich folk exhibited. Shiny expensive stuff, powerful vehicles and hunting trips were among his favourites. Someone from Central City even got invited to his family home. Happily married, always surrounded by a group of loyal friends.

All the while Mephiles didn't even have a face. Perhaps, it was natural that these two had an axe to grind. Two people from very different backgrounds had to share a single sandbox. One relied on trust and borderline nepotistic relationship. The other employed expensive consultants with names to vouch for their deeds. Neither had the motivation to give in.

Back in my own element, I concluded that it must have been Mephiles' turn to strike. He lost a hefty sum to Eggnamco and more by shorting Shadow Corp's stock. It would have made for an awesome story…that I'd never write because both sides would sue me to bits.

Anyway, time to make some news!

That's been the plan for the rest of the day in _Bullion State_. No one bothered me, save for Big. The editor-in-chief wanted to show me his pet frog's new terrarium that the amphibian immediately hopped out of. At times, I wondered if giving incompetent people a seat of power made it better for everyone else. If I were the boss, I'd be whipping myself for not getting much work done. Big, however, found laziness a saving grace that kept his imagination fresh during repetitive meetings with editors and authors.

My imagination deserved to be put to sleep for stressing me out non-stop. It skipped between the embarrassment I got from Shadow, being invited to Futuretech under a fake identity and treating Mephiles like a hobo. The mix of moral and practical choices made me sick to my stomach, and the bile dripped into my essays the moment I went back to working on them.

Amy wouldn't answer the phone. I wanted to get a draft of an article she was supposed to finish by Tuesday. She deserved to have fun once in a while, but my deadlines weren't made of rubber. If she failed to deliver, my schedule would fall apart, which it did.

I never got the article from her. On Tuesday, I received a bumbling lecture from Big about time management the chief was never guilty of. I cancelled lunch to get the article done to appear on our website somewhat on time before sending a strongly-worded letter to my unresponsive pink hedgehog writer. It wasn't like her to be tardy on an assignment.

Being brutally honest, she did turn in late at times, yet those always came with clearly telegraphed signage, so I could prepare myself. Skipping on common courtesy made me think that the windfall success with Shadow Corp got to her head and she left me out in the cold.

Everyone's guilty of thinking that about their colleagues, so I didn't repent for my grumbling.

It wasn't until the evening that I became worried. One of those cheap copy-pasting outlets had an alarmist caption about businesspeople falling prey to insatiable stalkers. The article involved the usual emotional drivel: someone famous ignored a fan's increasingly deranged stunts to get attention until the fan had nothing to lose and did something extreme. I wanted to skip it because it looked like a hidden psychological help line ad, with the usual suspects complaining about there being not enough volunteers and funding.

For some reason, Shadow Corp was among the tags. I read it dismissively the first time. The second read had me printing the whole thing and hitching a ride to Shadow Corp.

"Amy Rose, jobless fantasy artist broke court's restraining order by assaulting consumer giant Shadow T. Hedgehog's family member ... committed suicide by jumping out of a hi-rise building. Witnesses reported erratic behaviour and incoherent speech prior to event. Company representative announced Shadow Corp renewing commitment to fund suicide prevention research."

This had to be a joke. A very cruel and improbable joke, but it had to be. I needed to make sure. By the time I arrived, the news had popped up on other websites. No one considered it important enough to reach the printing press. TV had little except the good news from the market to report.

Everything looked normal near Shadow Corp. I walked around the building and didn't see any chaos. No weeping or startled girls texting their friends about the tragedy. It was a fleeting moment only those hoping to profit from someone's problems chose to cover.

The pictures brought me behind the building, next to the service entrance. A utility van was parked nearby. I noticed a part of the sidewalk gone, with a stack of clean tiles ready to fill the gap and hide the red-stained sand. Were it not for the article, the scene looked like regular maintenance. To everyone not involved, this was regular maintenance.

I wish I wasn't personally involved. The happening was wrong on so many levels I needed time to get my thoughts straight. I sat down on the curb and clutched my head in disbelief.

"Amy, why?"

She was so happy everywhere she went. I talked to her over the weekend. If something was up, she'd have told me. Or I would have noticed if she tried to hide it. Amy couldn't hide her emotions from anyone… Plus, she had a date with Sonic on Monday.

Wait, she never replied to anything after the date…

The unthinkable nearly knocked me over. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Regardless of the circumstances, I had to stay rational. Having covered the drama of hostile takeovers before, I didn't need to heed to my own ludicrous assumptions. A reporter had to remain objective above all else.

Above friendship or family ties.

For some reason, the acknowledgement made it worse. A lump formed in my throat that I couldn't get out until I gasped louder than intended.

Get a hold of yourself, Blaze! There were people in the street and I didn't want to attract attention. One could always cry themselves to sleep in privacy. Show some character strength! Come on…stop doing this to yourself.

In the back of my head, I knew my conscious self was trying to hide what I had no control over. I reduced these emotions to an expensive weakness I could not afford yielding to. Doubtless, I regretted manipulating myself into thinking about something much less relevant, a familiar buzz. Approaching.

"My condolences, Mrs Kat," I heard coming from behind. It was the marketing bee, Charmy.

I turned around, my eyes dry, but confused. "H-huh?"

The mask held out even as he scanned it for cracks. Charmy landed on the sidewalk and looked away.

"Oh, I thought you two were acquainted. I am sorry."

"No, it's okay. I get overly emotional at times…" I told him the truth while lying to myself. When one's friend dies, only a soulless fiend wouldn't feel a difference. To the both of us, it was best to believe I was such a fiend. My conscience would have the opportunity to eat me alive for the charade: I wouldn't have batted an eyelash if it were a random dead hedgehog.

He offered me a hand to stand up even though I was much taller than him. Sincere or not, the bee helped me concentrate on something other than Amy. I wasn't heartless for trying to escape a dark thought. I wasn't abandoning my friend, even though I knew I said that over and over in my head only to keep guilt from breaking me.

"You don't look well, Mrs Kat. Perhaps, it's better if you covered a different event."

I didn't pay attention to the tone. He must have sounded caring…didn't want me to get worked up about a trivial story. Or he could have had an ulterior motive by preventing a well-respected newsmaker from publishing a piece that put Shadow Corp in a negative light. Even if the company had nothing to do with it, getting press about someone's death on its premises was bad news.

"Perhaps. I just need a minute." I looked away. He noticed.

"May I suggest a lift home?" Charmy asked, suppressing a smile.

Oh, the exploitative kindness! Indebt a reporter and have them eating out of your hand. I would have given him a piece of my mind about conflict of interest, but I was too tired with myself to let the negativity simmer any longer.

He must have taken the hint quicker than I expected him to because I heard him buzz off in a hurry. Corporate chivalry had a short expiry date ha-ha. I sighed at the sad attempt to lift my spirits. My car needed a service, I've spent too much on taxis already and I didn't want to rely on anyone, lest they exploited a crack in my façade.

Then again, I swallowed my own reservation when he drove over and opened the front door to his car. Piggybacking on another's gestures provided opportunities at a time I wasn't fit to take advantage of them.

But I wasn't going to open up. Charmy wanted my address. Instead of telling him, I decided to shoot two birds with one stone. I had to make it quick before guilt pulled a number on me.

"I don't mean to be a burden, but I'd rather visit a friend today. I'm not fit to spend the night alone…"

"Alone, I see, Mrs Kat."

Yes, he heard me right: a missus wanting to hide away from her non-existent husband in Amy Rose' home. I had no problem giving him the friend's address, and he had none driving me there. Charmy put some light music on. I could see he wanted to talk, but kept it inside until the satnav brought us to the street. My driver wasn't familiar with the sketchier parts of Station Square.

"This might not be a good time, but the CEO asked me to hand you the invitation to Futuretech in person."

He did. I had a card with my pseudonym put on my lap.

Before I could interject or interpret it my way, he added quietly, "Again, I hope you getting it a day late doesn't end up on a late night show."

I nodded, pretending that I wanted to smile, but couldn't. "Thank you, Dr Bee."

"Please, call me Charmy."

He forced it out of me in the end. "Thank you, Charmy."

"Thank the CEO, Mrs Kat. It was his idea."

To an outsider, I must have looked awkward. Charmy thought he understood the source of my plight, so he didn't show if he minded my reluctance to reduce the verbal distance between us. The pause caught me by surprise, though.

"I do, umm, I am."

We looked at each other, both wondering what was it exactly that I said. His confusion elicited a slight chuckle from me. Charmy mirrored my mood, only his contentment wasn't as fake.

He unwittingly parked by Amy's apartment building and watched me get out. "Take care of yourself. It's been a rough day."

"Mhm. I definitely will. "

I didn't want to go inside. I had every reason to feel this way. Seeing that Charmy wouldn't drive away, though, I pulled out the invitation and slowly walked towards the front door. I pretended to read on the way, which seemed to be enough to make him leave.

But it was far from enough for me to muster up the courage to enter. I knew that if I wanted to get to the bottom of this, I had to check her place while I still had a chance. The question I still can't answer…did I really want to know more about Amy?


	8. Nega

**Chapter 8: Nega**

Amy had shown me the way to the apartment she was renting. It didn't look like the authorities had been to her place yet because the landlady welcomed me like any other day. To her knowledge, Amy'd felt depressed last night, but still went to work in the morning as per usual.

I thanked her for informing me and climbed the stairs. Having seen me visit Amy before, the old lady didn't worry about a cat lurking unattended. All I had to do was tell her that I was there to pick a few things up for a girls' night out.

As I walked down the corridor to grab the spare key Amy kept hidden in a dusty flower pot, I thought about Amy's schedule. She didn't have to _go_ to work because she worked from home. Though, the property owner assured me that Amy had a nine to five routine.

Curious, I thought.

With the key in my hand, I could have still turned away. The police were bound to have some cold hard facts, which would have made my visit a barely legal waste of time. Still, I had to check a few things out for myself.

I entered the apartment and quickly locked the door behind me. That was a very good idea because I slid to the floor the moment I realised my surroundings.

"What happened to you…" I muttered blankly. It looked like a decrepit space from an exorcism film, not a young girl's home.

Torn wallpaper, coffee stains and broken glass littered the floor. There was a pile of ash in the middle. Amy tried to burn something, but had to extinguish the fire with her coffee cup to avoid triggering the alarm. That cup – now, a fragmented mess – had Sonic's face on it.

Even though my legs didn't feel like functioning in those conditions, I couldn't crawl in the filth. The room deteriorated since my previous visit: Amy damaged or destroyed every one of her belongings, being doubly meticulous with anything related to Sonic. She had a lot of stuff resembling him…

Artwork lay in a puddle of thinner. Photos shredded or microwaved to nothingness. Shadow Corp pencils chewed to mash. Her laptop had a hammer hole in the screen. No keys. Printed emails and notebooks stood out the most as an ashen centrepiece in the grotesque dwelling.

None of the furniture looked stable enough to support me. Judging by the imprints in the bared walls, Amy bounced the chairs around like nobody's business.

I didn't want to visualise the destruction that took place. It was just a step above imagining the things that went on in Amy's head at the time. Thinking about the possible causes of her violent breakdown sent chills down my tail.

To make any sense of the insanity, I had to take a closer look. My first stop were the coffee-stained remains of her notes and a crumpled diary. She must have tried to pull the notebook's spiral out and cut her fingers in the process because the thing looked equally bloody and unnatural.

Only certain fragments survived the flame. Most of them either started or ended with Sonic's name. Every page contained at least one drawn heart, from regular cutesy outlines to...a hard-pressed medical interpretation of one. Deciphering the gibberish was going to take some time.

Which I realised I had none of when I heard a siren blaring outside. Two police cars stopped by the apartment building. I had to act quickly, so I gathered everything of substance in a small bag and picked up her hammer.

If the laptop had any data left, I'd need to extract it the way that voided every warranty policy in the world. The whole thing was too big to carry, so I dislodged the bezel to remove the hard drive. It'd have to do.

Looking at the room, I thought about what I had done and dropped the hammer when my eyes spotted lipstick writing on the ceiling.

"Love forgives. You don't have to…"

I ran out of the room before the shudder got to me. By that point, I went past the mark of weeping anguish. Something happened to Amy after the date with Sonic, and it made her psychological profile identical to that of an ill stalker. Convenient, I thought while locking the entrance.

Footsteps going up the stairwell cowed me to the fire escape. I didn't feel like having a chat with the police; ash-covered hands and an odd collection of items in a lady's bag would have made a firm impression on them.

The rest of the evening was spent hiding in the shadows until my paranoia grew sleepy enough to let me return home. I dumped the loot on the dinner table and turned the kettle on. It was going to be a long night I had no right to waste. I'd come to work as a caffeinated zombie, but I would get to the bottom of this.

As a reporter and friend, I had to find out what happened to Amy. We were closer than our business relationship required, yet the closeness was harmless. Now, I got backlash for underestimating the dangers of relating to someone. I felt my heart sink, my stomach go in reverse and my lungs hyperventilate.

All of it died under a stream of silky black coffee. I hated going medical on myself just because I knew how certain substances affected my mood, but it was the only way to do what I had planned.

My computer recognised the hard drive once I placed it inside an external case. The silly things a reporter must learn to do her job. Sigh.

The burnt diaries were riveting, I imagined. Though, I needed more intelligible data to outline the main elements. Amy's files had signs of OCD and more bothersome obsessions. She saved and categorised every piece of correspondence with Sonic, which she printed more than a few times. The girl wasn't very good with computers, considering the sloppy headers and technical gibberish saved in regular text documents.

It gave me a surprising amount of insight. The oldest emails were a classic example of two love birds unable to get enough of each other. Unable in the literal sense. The relationship suffered some strain over time. Sonic grew more distant, a process that drove Amy insane. Figuratively. She thought the object of her obsession was being pulled out of her grasp by someone else, that it wasn't Sonic's decision.

Sonic didn't do anything about her suspicions in several emails. Eventually, he denounced everything he had written to her. In short, Sonic did his best to make sure she stopped thinking about him.

That occurred over a month ago.

If Amy saw her virtual relationship crumble then, I was a bad friend for being completely out of the loop.

The next file raised more questions: Sonic apologised on the very next day in a cryptic letter, asking for a second chance. It came from a different IP address, something I noticed only because Amy didn't know how to copy an email properly.

All the emails before that one came from the same address. Everything else had a variety of sources, which made me think how frequently the one she considered Sonic was actually Sonic.

Amy collected things with his likeness and took pictures of their time together. The bit that escaped me when I was in the room was that…all the pictures were the same two people on a different background. I knew Amy had an artistic streak, but I didn't think she'd doctor her own photos to multiply a fleeting memory into something that may have never existed.

I dropped the text files to check the stock of smudged notes. Single pages were beyond recognition, so I went for the diary. Amy had a penchant for calligraphy that resembled her dedication to ideals. My cursive…looked cursed in comparison. That hedgehog had some hardcore happy stuff inside her, and it made her tick better than myself. She needed very little to keep going, just that the little she had meant everything to her.

Hence, I skipped every passage that mentioned my name. I couldn't bear the heartache the first time I read a shower of compliments that didn't end for a whole page. I've found a dissonant blush warming my cheeks while my eyes watered. By Chaos, Amy…why did you have to be so nice? It made rational thinking so much more difficult at a time I needed to focus on the facts. Emotional details only muddled connections between the dots.

Dots I gathered more of with every day Amy had reflected on in her diary. She wasn't just writing fairy tales; she lived in one. At times, the text made it difficult to tell if she was serious or not because she found her _prince imprisoned in a dungeon guarded by a dragon that hadn't eaten him only because it didn't know the prince was inside._ I assumed it was written before she picked up a more realistic style of storytelling.

The metaphor had substance, though. It was the only mention of a dragon in the surviving text, and Amy complained about pretty much everyone in Sonic's environment, making it difficult to pick out the one she held responsible for their separation.

Provided the separation took place outside of Amy's head. For a personal diary, the text didn't inspire much confidence in the writer. To the point I found myself questioning my own motivation to keep reading.

The ugly feeling subsided when I got to the last few pages. Amy had used an eraser to change a few pencilled lines when she found out about the date taking place. The rest of the diary was written in ink, but I didn't give the pencil much thought. The smudged fragments had enough information for me to get the gist of it.

I took some notes myself because my mind got cloudy in the early hours despite ample amounts of coffee.

The impression I got – I hoped it was wrong – meant I had an arduous task ahead. Amy didn't see another way out. In her fantasy world, she had to sacrifice herself to the dragon, so that the prince would have a chance to run free. Everything else pointed to failure. My failure, too.

Amy had an acute understanding of Shadow Corp that Sonic entrusted her with for a reason. To uncover this reason, I needed help my usual contacts couldn't provide. After a few dreamless hours, I shambled over to _Bullion State_ with a proposal. Big didn't like it. My idea sounded expensive because it involved a business trip and paid overtime. Plus, he needed to delegate my usual market nonsense to someone else. Instead of saying no, however, he grabbed an accountant to do the math for him.

My idea had two plausible bottom lines, one of which was mildly positive and the other not positive at all. Big asked the accountant to calculate the short-term implications only, so he knew the estimates were conservative.

Lacking his permission, I would have gone through with it in my free time. Big understood that much.

That's why getting the green light and accreditation surprised me. All he asked for was that I did everything quickly. He didn't tell me why, but he insisted on me doing so.

As if I'd have done it any differently, given the circumstances. I picked up my phone and gathered my thoughts one last time, staring at a business card. Did I want to do it? Yes. Did I know the outcome? No. Was I eager to find out? The voice on the other end answered it for me.

"You have reached Dr Nega's residence. Assistant Tanaka speaking. How may I be of assistance?"

I gulped. It wasn't the voice I expected to encounter. Not that I complained. Getting redirected from Mephiles to Nega was good for business. I'd have taken the polite grandpa any day.

"Hi! I'm Blaze the Cat. I wish to speak to Dr Nega."

"Good morning, Ms Cat! May I ask about the purpose of your inquiry?"

The geeky-sounding assistant seemed harmless, to a degree, so I gave him the obfuscated version. "I wish to discuss a business proposal forwarded to me by Dr Nega's partner."

"Absolutely. Please hold. I will be back shortly," he said. The number Mephiles gave must have been Dr Nega's landline because I could hear Tanaka walk away. No hold music or anything. He returned a minute later at a much faster pace. "Thank you for holding. I will connect you with Dr Nega now."

"Hello?" I heard an old man's voice. It was lower than I expected, but it sounded legit; Dr Nega was notorious for his bad health.

Still, I didn't have a clue on what to tell him. "Dr Nega…"

"Blaze the Cat! To what do I owe the honour?"

Phew. He let me feel more confident with the positive outburst, so I presented my case in the nicest way possible: "I have considered your kind words, sir. They have reached me at a very opportune time."

"Splendid! I suggest we celebrate this decision with a spot of tea and scones. Tanaka will be with you shortly. I'm certain you two can work out the technical details."

Truth be told, I expected a more opulent acquaintance with Dr Nega. I haven't paid attention to his fortune as of late because fossil fuels weren't my specialty, but it didn't look like he was on par with Shadow or Mephiles. The chauffeur brought me to a quaint lodging in the suburbs. Were it not for the walls and security cameras, I'd have thought I entered an average family home.

With a not so average host. Dr Nega was an eccentric old man whose ambitions made bankers like Robotnik appear lacking an imagination. Had Mephiles been the architect of today's meeting, I'd have known what to expect: nothing good.

The man in front of me had the propensity to surprise. Tanaka guided me to the aptly named reading room, an office containing more books than breathing space. Dr Nega flashed a broad smile at me before ushering his assistant to prepare the treats. Despite being stuck in a wheelchair, he looked upbeat.

"Welcome, Blaze the Cat! I'm happy to meet you at long last. Please, take a seat."

We've occupied a small table in the corner rather than the office desk by the window. The host coughed a few times before fixing his yellow long neck sweater. It wasn't cold indoors.

"Thank you. You may call me Blaze."

He stroked his grey moustache while examining me. I didn't feel awkward because I knew I wasn't interesting to him that way. "Charming, Blaze. You are so very charming. As is your dedication to writing. I have been an enthusiast of the written word for as long as I remember, and I know when I see a fellow enthusiast at work."

"Dr Nega, I'm touched…"

"Modesty is a delightful trait, Blaze. Cherish it like a crown jewel and your life will blossom with beautiful ideals."

Tanaka returned with a tea tray. He apologised for the intrusion, but got no reaction from Dr Nega, who took a sip of his black tea and sighed, feeling the warmth make his throat better. He nodded for the assistant to leave us alone before addressing me again.

"I hope I'm not being overbearing. A worthwhile listener is hard to come by."

I smiled at him, indulging in a free lunch. "No, not at all. Please, continue."

"I appreciate the sentiment. Few of my business partners do, however, as a result of me being confined to this prison of a chair…" He shook the contraption demonstratively before coughing into his left hand. "Preyed upon by physical weakness and vultures eager to grind the remnants of my empire to dust."

The shake let me see it wasn't a regular hospital apparatus. Dr Nega's wheelchair had a lot of controls despite having a manual drive. He clicked on something to lower the blinds while rummaging in a book case behind him.

"You understand, Blaze, that our conversation is confidential."

I nodded. We were far enough from the window to avoid eavesdropping, but I didn't mind the idiosyncrasy.

The next part startled me because he put a folder along with a pen on the table. "I would like to see your understanding in writing."

I picked up the folder and started reading. As I expected, it was a non-disclosure form. "I beg your pardon?" He didn't react, so I read into the terms. I was forbidden to tell anyone any details pertaining to my visit to Dr Nega home for a year and any information obtained via his channels or due to his aid had to be vetted by him prior to publication. I scoffed. "This is censorship. I'd never…"

"Consider my offer? Yet you are here. Why are you here?" He crossed his bushy eyebrows.

"Shadow Corp."

Anger spilled on his face. His hands squeezed against the wheelchair's frame. "It is a cancer growing on the fertile body of global business. Insatiable, aggressive…destructive." His throat must have had a spasm because he got silent all of a sudden, only continuing after a gulp of tea. "A strong set of words coming from a former oil tycoon, eh?"

I nodded instinctively. If it was a semantic trap, I had no reason to fear, having put my signature on the form. He happily took it away. Dr Nega had a lot brewing inside him. That I could see.

"The things he does on a baily dasis…pah! Daily basis will have repercussions far greater than the extinction of an underdeveloped species of marine chicken caused by deepwater rigs. He stole my love child – the one I uplifted utmost care – in broad daylight and slaughtered it for his own amusement."

Dr Nega was talking about Chaos Incorporated, a rival of Shadow Corp that the hedgehog's company bought out in a non-straightforward manner. Acquisitions were hardly slaughter, but Shadow Corp made it clear the ex-competitor's workers were unwelcome. He'd made offers to them before the acquisition, which few accepted due to lower pay. They later regretted their loyalty to Dr Nega.

"I warned them! I told the board they were dead wrong to court Shadow Corp. They thought one hedgehog was a peach to contain. Oh, how they prayed for my return when their white knight shoved a hostile takeover down their throats. None of them work in the industry anymore. If not for disrespecting me, it was for disappointing Hedgehog. He'd never leave a head he had less than complete control over in the boardroom. Having betrayed the CEO once, they could not be trusted…"

His face turned red during the speech. An overweight man of his age was likely to have high blood pressure, so I wanted to appease him before expressing my reservations.

"My condolences…" I said. The glasses he wore made it impossible to check his eyes for a reaction. He didn't look like he enjoyed the sentiment.

"I'm glad you're not sorry, Blaze. It must be a pain to listen to an old man's rambling, but these truths must be heard. Shadow Corp has to pay for its misdeeds."

Having said that, Dr Nega reached out for a scone, which he ate slowly. I felt his irritation withdrawing, so I took it as my cue. After all, a villain responsible for slaughtering wildlife to exploit prime carbohydrate deposits lay inside the weak physical shell. Being on the back foot for a spell doesn't make one a saint.

"I don't mean any disrespect, but is betrayal not a common white collar practice? While your thoughts about Chaos Inc. would have made a good editorial months ago, circumstances have since changed too much for a businessman like you to still consider acting on a vendetta."

Dr Nega chuckled, but ended up coughing. "I suppose, you expect disappointment. Members of the press are predictable this way…" He then looked away and slid a finger along the wheelchair's armrest. "Tell me, Blaze, do you know why I am in this wheelchair?

Uh, skiing incident? Laziness? I had little pity for big oil oligarchs, present or past.

"Because I stood up to Shadow Corp and it sat me down permanently. My partners either fled the country or switched sides to buy time." He paused to take off the glasses, staring at me dead on. "Which begs the question, have you stood up to Shadow Corp?"

"Why, I…"

The boldness took me off guard. I knew he had an emotional streak, which made dismissing his literal claims easier, but he couldn't have told me the truth. Mephiles and Robotnik betrayed Dr Nega because they were afraid of a single hedgehog? No way!

"What was your punishment?"

Amy… No, it was just a coincidence. I hadn't looked at it that way, and I felt sick to my stomach about the thought: Shadow Corp trying to get back at me by hurting Amy.

"Delusion? Dementia? Worthwhile listener, hmm?"

I sank in my chair. He really believed the things he was saying. I had a suspicion he also knew about Amy's suicide.

"We thought we had the hedgehog eating out of our palm by forming the Creditor Committee. A brilliant scheme to make the cheapskate writhe when negative PR floored his asset values. A margin call at a time Shadow Corp had no money in the bank... Chaos Inc. would have swallowed the parent company in a restructuring deal forged by my partners. The hedgehog would have been through! But we were too cocky. Robotnik suggested a geared short, an OTC derivative if you will, to generate profit while the stock price fell. Why wait for the feast at the end if you can feed during the entire process, eh? That sneak sold us a toxic instrument crafted by Hedgehog's lackeys at NPC. It didn't take long for it to poison our portfolios. And poison me." He stopped to clear his throat. The teacup was empty, so he sounded hoarse. "You think that eco junk he sells is good for you? Pay Shadow Corp's R&D division a visit. Just don't forget a Geiger counter."

Dr Nega snorted as he put his glasses back on. He didn't like my reaction after I've recovered from the initial shock: his plight amused me. Three greedy men offered Shadow money to let him buy a long-time competitor, hoping that he'd fail to honour commitments, which would allow them to take over Shadow Corp very cheaply. Robotnik, being a banker and, therefore, the greediest of the bunch, decided to profit from the other two. I didn't know if he succeeded, but I was certain neither Dr Nega nor Mephiles had any Shadow Corp stock left. It was all in Eggnamco's hands. They were unlikely to forgive him until the next venture.

"Again I ask, is it delusion or dementia?"

I shook my head. The man got what he deserved, and he expected something from me. I didn't want him to believe I caved. "Dr Nega…you should see a therapist."

His reaction was swift. "Go! Do your work while you have the strength."

There was no need for ceremony, so I thanked him for his time and left. Even if I disagreed with his methods, I had no qualms about him benefiting from my work because his enemies were just as rotten.

The gag order was there to make sure I wouldn't mock him in public, and I had no reason to. As far as business was concerned, we were temporary allies. I've been reassured of this when Tanaka approached me by the front door.

"Dr Nega wishes to apologise for his moody demeanour. If there is anything that can compensate for your time, Ms Blaze…"

"Yeah. A ticket to Central City."


End file.
